Out of the Mouths of Babes

On most Wednesday mornings I give my daughter-in-law a little respite by helping with two of my granddaughters’ home schooling. I did this for her even before my husband’s death on January 2, 2011.

One day in November of 2009 when I was helping with home schooling the girls sang a Scripture song they were learning for their Bible class. It was based on the Scripture passage in Jeremiah 29:11 which tells us that God has good plans for our lives and wants to give us hope and a future.

I asked my granddaughters that day, “Is this true even when sad things happen? They said, “Yes.” So I said, “What about Grandpa not being able to walk?” They had to think about this, but still said, “Yes.”

Then one of my granddaughters said, “One good thing is now that Grandpa can’t work, he can come to the Thursday night suppers at our house.” Out of the mouths of babes! Finding little blessings in difficult situations.

Those words from my granddaughter’s month that day in 2009 reminded me that I needed to strive to see the blessings in my life and to not focus on the difficulties and challenges of my caregiving role at that time.

Dear caregiver, there are many heartaches and challenges in being a caregiver. This is especially true if you are caring for a terminally ill person and only see declines in his or her health. In spite of all these things, dear Christian caregiver; keep your focus on the Lord and not the problem. Look for the blessings! It will add to your joy!