What do you need that for?

Something as simple as a flower can be a bright spot in a day. When we walk through the park behind our apartments, we often find wild flowers growing sporadically along the side of the trail. It's been my practice for many years to simply enjoy this random beauty and allow it to lighten my heart. If that's the only reason God made wild flowers, then I am thankful. He usually has a reason or purpose for just about everything, we just don't always discover it right off.

This morning I was reading through a psalm that I grew up knowing. My mom read it to me when I was scared or troubled. As an adult I read it to my children as well. Psalm 91 I believe has been misinterpreted over the years to mean that nothing is going to happen to us if we stay hidden in Him. On one hand, I agree with the concept - our soul (being) is safe in Him. It is safe from any type of harm. Our body on the other hand, is susceptible to life.

As I was reading this familiar passage I paused to think. It starts out with Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge, He is my fortress; He is my God and I am trusting Him. 

There are a few things that stood out to me in these verses today. First of all, you don't need a shelter if there is no danger. Secondly, you don't need a refuge if there isn't a storm. Thirdly, you don't need a fortress if there isn't an enemy. The caregiver lives in a storm - so He's got us covered!

This entire psalm speaks of things that life might throw at us. Many circles misinterpret it to mean that if you trust God then nothing bad is going to happen. I think it is quite different than that. First of all, verse 8 implies that we are safe from the judgment of God and only the wicked will see it. But the long list of protective forces needed in this psalm indicate that there are things happening all the time; things we need to be protected from. It's not that we will never see difficulties or struggles - but that God is protecting us through them.

Verse 5 tells us that we will not be afraid of:

the terror by night

the arrow that flies by day

the pestilence stalking in darkness

the destruction that lies in wait at noon...

But it's all out there. We cannot stick our heads in the sand and pretend "bad things" do not exist. Life is full of trials, tests, and tribulations. That's why we need a shelter. He is always right here. No matter where here is - He's got it covered; He's got us covered. All we have to do is run to Him.

Today I will meditate on His divine protection of my soul. I will allow Him to bathe my mind, will and emotions in His peace and protection. I will rest in Him today and allow Him to be my protector and my shield. I will let Him take care of me today - He is my caregiver. Will you join me?

Well, It Sounds Easy

Jesus spoke some powerful words in John 14:27. He was instructing His disciples about what to do after His departure. He explained that Holy Spirit would come and help them. I'm not sure the disciples were quite ready to live life without His up-close-and-personal presence. We all enjoy those times when God's presence is almost tangible. It's the times we can't feel, hear or sense His presence that are the toughest.

Jesus offered these words for His disciples and for us: Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful. Even today He offers us a peace beyond our understanding. The caregiver's world is oftentimes anything but  peaceful! There are so many  needs... and so many questions like "How am I going to handle______?" I'm sure you can fill in the blank with any number of things like finances, transportation, or other decisions that sometimes have to be made on a daily basis.

But Jesus specifically said, do not let. "Let" is an action and takes work on our part. We are not to let our hearts be troubled or fearful. It may sound easy, but it's actually rather difficult. Jesus didn't give us any exclusions either! He didn't say, let not your heart be troubled nor let it be fearful.... unless it is a worthy concern; or unless it's too big for you to handle. There is no "unless;" it's just a "don't."

Another thing I find interesting in this scripture is that twice Jesus told us He was giving us peace; and twice He told us to not be fearful. He said, peace I leave, and peace I give. Then He said don't be fearful, and don't be afraid. For me this means that there is enough peace for me to have anytime I feel fearful. His peace is enough to match up with any fears the caregiver may face. We just have to accept His peace while working through to a workable solution.


Today I will meditate on allowing His peace to reign supreme in my heart. I'll wait for His peace before addressing situations and I will purposefully allow His peace to take over my heart and replace my fears. Will you join me?

What Time I Am Afraid

Maybe it's just me, but there can be  a lot of fears in caregiving.I am afraid I will hurt my loved one (not purposefully of course), make a wrong decision or just mess something up. It's very difficult to make decisions on behalf of someone else...for me anyway! Then since I am a caregiver to my son I worry about what happens when I am gone? Who will care for him then? There are also concerns about getting older and how that looks now as opposed to BC (before caregiving). If we are not careful thoughts can overrun us and charge our emotions with fear.

That's why this morning I turned my meditation to a scripture that I taught my kids when they were little. It's Psalm 56:3 and it simply says what time I am afraid, I will trust in You. It was written by an adult David while he was not faring too well in battle. What? David was afraid too? Is that possible? We are so conditioned to think that it is a grave sin to be afraid of anything - and so we tend to secretly shake and try to keep our deepest fears hidden. Well, let me be the first to admit: I am Afraid!

There is no sin in being afraid - and it's not lack of faith. The sin is in relying on man to save us instead of trusting in the Lord. David didn't say "I'll never be afraid." He said when I am afraid I will trust. We will get nowhere and remain emotionally immature until we can admit our own feelings of fear and helplessness. And really, until we can get there - we won't trust Him!

So today - I will admit my fears; I will share them with Him. And then - you got it - once again - I will trust in Him.

Fear Not - You Worm...?

I was reading along this morning and found a great scripture that contains a wonderful piece of instruction to Jacob: fear not. I let my eyes rest on those two little words for a few seconds as I thought about how many fears I face almost every day. (I'm afraid I'll do something wrong while caring for my son, afraid I am not stretching him enough, afraid I'll drop him, afraid I won't stay on top of my growing work load, afraid I'll gain more weight, afraid I won't get to run soon enough....got the idea? 'cause I can go on!!)

 Fear not. Simple, but complex, isn't it? It's easy to say - but difficult to do. Just help me find the button to turn my thoughts off for a minute and maybe I can shut down the fears that come with the situation. I really don't think it's the deepest sense of the word, fear. Sometimes it's healthy to be afraid. Like when you are going to cross the road on foot and there is traffic. It's actually a good thing to be afraid of stepping out in front of a truck! And these lower level nagging fears are not like being consumed with an abnormal fear of what some would call silly things. It's okay to have the sort of fear that brings you some concern. We pay better attention to life that way.

 But here in Isaiah 41:14 - God speaks directly to Jacob (who's been dead for years) through Isaiah the prophet when He says, "Fear not, you worm Jacob." Yeah, I know - I read it several times and in several different versions but they all say "you worm" too.I mean, how low can you go? lol!

 I really don't have some deep theological interpretation for this...honestly, I don't have a clue! But here's what I think about this phrase. It is a stark reminder that He is God...and we are not. And since He is God (and we are not) we do not have to fear from our low position. Just humbly give ourselves to Him again today....then fear not.