Daily Devotions for Caregivers

  Some of the older artisan arts and craftsmanship have become rare in our modern, digital-focused world. But some of them do still exist. Have you ever had the privilege of seeing a handmade tapestry? If you have, you know how beautiful a well-crafted piece can be. And if you've seen the front, you may have looked at the back which tells a whole different story.  The front of a tapestry, or even an embroidered work, provides a beautiful image that is soothing to the eyes. The back looks like a bunch of chicken scratch. There's no sense to the image and the threads seem to go in every-which direction. It doesn't make sense. However, it is necessary to create the desired image on the viewable front of the tapestry. Sometimes our lives can feel like the back of the tapestry that doesn't make sense, looks confusing, and leaves you scratching your head. But others see the front of our caregiving tapestry. It presents a beautifully woven image of love, care, hope, and faith....

 Jesse sent David to check on his brothers and take them some food. He just wanted to hear that his sons were surviving the war. David, so unassuming, arrives on the scene to find that Goliath has stalled the war out with his threats and challenges. The Israelites, including David's brothers, were frozen in fear and unsure what to do. David started asking all the right questions. Who is this uncircumcised Philistine?  The next thing you know, David's getting ready to go take down the giant. He never stated anything otherwise. In fact, he told King Saul that he had killed a lion and bear on occasion when they threatened his sheep. Now that's a caretaker. David didn't see Goliath as more than anything threatening to harm what was his. But David's brother, Eliab, felt differently. He asked David, openly, on purpose, and just to try to demean and discourage him (in his own sight and in others), where are those little sheep you take care of? David didn't bat an eye, ...

  I love social media most of the time. It has some benefits as well as some disadvantages. One thing I enjoy is being able to connect with friends and family. I also like meeting new friends. I use social media pretty much every day. In the mornings, I do a Facebook Live devotional called Peace Out! I started it during the pandemic, and there hasn't seemed like there was a good place to stop since we all still need to peace out.  The other ones I don't use as much. I do have a YouTube channel and an Instagram account. I also just recently started a TikTok channel. I mostly used it to post shorts taken from my morning FaceBook Live devotionals. I was getting about 200 views a day and they just dropped to 15 -20 views a day. But I started putting up caregiving videos of me transferring my son, him moving around, and other improvements. Those started getting 2-300 views, but devotional videos barely get any. My thought was this - I want to find a way to "marry" the two....

  If there's anything caregivers understand, it's how the days roll by as we do all the same tasks over and over again. Of course, there's always that underlying "what if" ready to throw a wrench in our day with a trip to the ER, a call to the doctor, or an aide or supplies that don't show up. Part of our over and over again situation means constantly being ready to make do and live in "go" mode for the unexpected. The crazy things prepared for and aside, most of our days are comprised of tasks we do over and over. Some things are common to every household, we just get the complicated versions. Laundry, for instance. Everyone does laundry, but when you care for someone who is incontinent, it adds another layer of complexity to ensure they stay dry and laundry is always done. Cooking is another example. If your loved one needs anything special at all, a basic everyday task becomes complicated and time-consuming. I tube feed my son a real food diet, wh...

Paul reminds us in Romans 8 that God makes everything work out for good as we trust Him. But it's interesting that this concept is throughout the Old Testament, too. When I find a passage that is really speaking to my heart, I camp there. So, since yesterday, I've been camped out in Isaiah 51 and 52. I've read these two chapters several times and even read them out loud a time or two... Yesterday, I thought a lot about verse 2, which says, "Abraham was alone when I called him. But when I blessed him, he became a great nation." Since we can feel alone and be alone so much of the time, this verse was encouraging to me. But this morning, I've been sitting on verse 3, which says, " The Lord will comfort Israel (Jakob) again and make her deserts blossom. Her barren wilderness will become as beautiful as Eden - the garden of the Lord."  The caregiving journey can feel so very barren at times. We can wonder if God can bring anything good out of the dry an...

 This morning, as I was preparing to go live on Facebook for Peace Out devotions, I found this really cool scripture in Isaiah 51. In verse 21, the prophet says, now listen to this, you afflicted ones,  who sit in a drunken stupor, though not from drinking wine. (NLT) I was like, Wow! How many times on this caregiving journey have I felt just like that? I wouldn't even venture a guess. Usually, I describe it as those sit-drink-coffee-stare-at-the-wall moments.  Trauma itself can have that effect, as can the ongoing struggles of caregiving. It's easy to get overwhelmed and even underwhelmed, lol. I think we've all had those moments where we go numb. And we didn't use a glass of wine to get us there! :-) Overwhelming is often an understatement when it comes to caregiving. There are just those days when there are no words and no one to understand, even if we tried. Those days are often filled with heavy sighs, and they are perfect for learning to wait on God. But boy, are ...

  I've been told that I "wear caregiving well." I'm pretty sure it was meant as a compliment and, of course, pointed to God's sustaining power. I'm still the silly, fun-loving person I always was, even though life changed forever. It can certainly feel like our soul is eclipsed by the cares of life. And there are very few people who will look past the moon (caregiving) to see the true light in the soul behind it. That's okay. I still love a good joke and tasteful pranks. Who doesn't love a good laugh? It's good for the soul, and sometimes I watch funny movies just for the soul's benefit. But it seems that there is always a soul eclipse as caregiving can cast a shadow on everything since it infiltrates literally every aspect of our lives. There's no getting around it. People see the bright and cheery part - but they don't see the nights I lay awake trying to figure out how to make ends meet. They don't see the times I'm so overwh...