Caregivers by their nature tend to be planners and well-organized. They have taken on the responsibility for the care of another human being who needs their help. They also often have to be advocates for their loved ones, and they often have to fight through the “red tape” of government rules and the medical profession. Hence, as a caregiver there is a tendency to feel that one has to always be in control. In the end, however, none of us are in ultimate control. Only God is in control. We are mere instruments in His hands.
As a caregiver I too often felt as if I had to keep things under control. Deep in my heart I knew, however, that I needed to release these things to the Lord. Caregiving was too overwhelming to try to try to “keep all the balls in the air” under my own power.
In the summer of 2009 while I was in the midst of my caregiving days for my husband I wrote the following thoughts:
“I am enjoying my Wed. night woman’s Bible studies so much. They apply so much to what I am going through in this whole caregiving scenario. One thing we talked about last Wed. night was that our attempts to grip so tightly to OUR plans and OUR control of things is pointless.
Our control of things is really an illusion. God is the One that is in control. So all we have to do is rest in God where He has placed us and experience the freedom of following Him. Where He has placed me in life as a caregiver is not always easy. I am trying to keep reminding myself, however, that I could have less feelings of stress, if I would always completely rest everything with God. I have so many things that need to be tended to in the next weeks, and it is difficult doing this on my own when I was used to my husband taking care of a lot of these kinds of things. I am not alone, however, God will direct me as He has in the past. Now to keep remembering that!”
Dear Christian Caregiver, caregiving is probably the hardest job you have ever experienced. It can be physically, emotionally, and spiritually overwhelming at times. Trust that the Lord God is in control of it all. He will guide you. Remembering that will lighten the load.
Hi, I popped over from the Caregiving.com Holiday Progressive Blog Party. I really enjoyed your article, and say "hear, hear" to your comments about how hard caregiving is and how vital it is to rely on the Lord to give us the strength and wisdom to deal with whatever comes our way. Definitely one of my favorite things to write about at SandwichINK.com :) Have a blessed week.
ReplyDeleteThanks Kaye. I hope you will come back often!
ReplyDelete