Daily Devotions for Caregivers

 Stress for caregivers can't be measured, leveraged, or turned off. I don't think anyone will argue that caregivers live stressful lives. In fact, my own stress was the reason I started this blog 15 years ago. I started out just writing what I needed to hear. And here we are!  Caregiver stress can lead to burnout if we don't manage it. But that's no small task.  As believers, we know how to soothe our spirit. I have my go-to verses that I lean on and put at the forefront of my mind every single day. I may sit at the piano and sing the verses to make sure they are tucked into my heart. Or I might use them to write a new tune while I strum my guitar. I memorize scriptures and meditate on them. The word has definitely been what has gotten me through some of the roughest passages and darkest nights. Here are a few that I find myself running to over and over again. Psalm 46:1 - God is our refuge and strength, a very present help  in times of trouble. Isaiah 43: 1-3 - God ...

 During my personal devotions this morning, I continued reading in Nehemiah. I am always amazed at how blatantly evil some people can be. Nehemiah has a heart to rebuild Jerusalem. As he is working, evil people begin to say things to him solely for the purpose of discouraging him from continuing the work.  In Nehemiah 2:10, Sanballat and Tobiah were deeply disturbed  when they heard someone had come wanting to do good. How messed up is that? In the first verse of chapter 4, Sanballat and Tobiah become furious and indignant just because Nehemiah was rebuilding the wall. They started mocking the workers and making fun of their work. They laughed at them. In verse 8 of chapter 4, it says they tried to create confusion.  How crazy is all that? And basically, all for nothing except to create fear, confusion, doubt, and discouragement.  Doesn't that sound a LOT like the enemy of our souls? I don't know about you, but I know me - and I have tons, thousands of questions...

 One of the things caregivers have to deal with is feeling separated. We can feel separated from family and friends, our job, and just a "normal" lifestyle since ours is so different than the norm. Our lives don't revolve around regular things like our jobs, hobbies, or family. Instead, everything, literally everything,  revolves around our loved ones and what is best for them! It's "okay" since it's our choice. But we can feel so separated from life in general that it wears on our souls. Separated. That's the term I thought of as I was reading Nehemiah this morning. He was the cupbearer for King in Persia during the time that the Jews were in exile. In Chapter 1, he asks how the Jews who had escaped captivity and survived were doing. He also asked how the holy city, his beloved Jerusalem, was faring. When the messenger stated that the wall around Jerusalem had been broken down and its gates burned, Nehemiah was overcome with grief. In verse 4, Nehem...

Did you notice that "rest" is a four-letter word? I usually laugh when someone tells me I need to rest. And sleep! What is that? Rest can go a lot deeper than just sitting down for a couple of minutes or taking a nap. In Matthew 11:28-29, Jesus invited weary souls to come to Him and find rest. He first says in verse 28 that He gives  rest. Then in verse 29, He specifically says that in Him we will find rest for our souls.  Hebrews 4:9 reminds us that God's people are promised rest. Our real work is to figure out how to rest in Him. We know He is our hiding place, our refuge, our shield, and our rock. Not one of these are a "place" in the natural that we go to physically. So, there must be more!  There must be a place in Him where our souls can find rest, even if we don't physically rest. Jeremiah 31:25 gives us God's promise that He will satisfy the weary soul and He will replenish the sorrowful soul. (That's my new favorite scripture for today!)  I...

  I'm pretty sure most of us didn't grow up with aspirations of being caregivers. We certainly didn't know our life's journey would take so many twists and turns. But here we are. For each of us, our caregiving journey is different, but most of us started out at zero. We didn't know what to do or how to do it.  When I first brought my son home, I was so nervous and afraid I would hurt him. I'd literally get sick to my stomach each time I had to transfer him. I had seen people transfer him, and I finally had a bit of training when he was in therapy for a couple of weeks just before I brought him home. But I was still scared. It was the deep unknown for me!  It wasn't much easier when I first started transitioning him to a blenderized diet. I had only known formula, but I decided to give it a try. Fearfully. Cautiously. It was certainly the unknown. Our whole journey is about walking into the unknown. We probably do it a lot more than we realize at this point....

 Days run so short, and time runs out at the end of them. It is so easy to feel like there is not enough time in the day. Not enough resources. Not enough help. Not enough money. Not enough friends. That's just the beginning, sometimes. Maybe it's just me, but I have a feeling I'm not alone. It can feel like there's not enough of a lot of things. I've been thinking about this for the last few days and just feeling inadequate. Of course, I figure much of it is my own fault because I've taken on a few things, like opportunities to share God's word. How dare I take on something I can actually enjoy! (sarcasm alert) Even though I'm being a bit silly, the feelings are real. Over the last week or so, I've been working on reorganizing life. Chris has made some improvements, but that means more therapy, more time in the standing frame, and more adjustments to our already too-tight schedule. (What schedule! Lol)  As caregivers, we become good jugglers . Or ma...