Care-giving
for a loved one is often challenging, at best. Care-giving can
also be heartbreaking and overwhelming if one cares for a loved one
who continues to take steps backwards in his or her health. As a
caregiver for my husband with a devastating and fast-moving
neurological disease, I certainly found that to be true. In
January, 2010, I wrote the following words about
my husband:
How far we have come from him being our family’s primary breadwinner, my best friend, my lover, and my husband. He is still my husband, but how different our roles are now. How could our lives have gone from “normal” to wheelchairs, incontinence products, and immobility in just a few years?
I resolved at the beginning of this year to look for the blessings and to also look for the faithfulness of my God in my life. I resolved not to stress so much. I am making a conscious effort to do this. I do see the blessings and faithfulness of my God. In spite of it not being a great day, I recognize blessings in my day even today. I really do, but these sad feelings are still there for what is no longer there.
Dear Christian caregiver, I am certain you experience many emotions of sadness and heartbreak also; especially if you are caring for someone with a long term illness. So where can one run for help with these negative emotions?
The only
source of strength and guidance in the challenges of life is the Lord
God. We must spend time in His Word, the Bible, and we must
spend time in prayer. This will begin to instill in us an
understanding of the depth of God’s love for
us. This, in turn, will provide us a peace that
only the awareness of the presence of God in our lives can
provide.
As we
begin to look for the wonders of God (which are all around
us), we begin to realize that we are not abandoned or left alone in
this world. Dear Christian caregiver, your feelings may tell you that
you are all alone. Daily remind yourself of God’s truth, however.
Seek His companionship and counsel. He alone can guide you perfectly
as you navigate the often stormy waters of care-giving. God alone can
comfort you completely as you struggle with the negative emotions
which often accompany your care-giving days. The Lord God is
sufficient, however. He is also greatly honored, dear Christian
caregiver, when you set your affection on Him in the midst of the
heartbreak of care-giving.
(The above
blog post is one of the chapters in my book Dear Caregiver
Reflections for Family Caregivers. Having been a family caregiver
myself I have a passion to help family caregivers. My book contains
over 100 short chapters or meditations to encourage family caregivers
in their sometimes discouraging but always noble work of caring for
their loved ones. My own story as my husband's caregiver is
intertwined in the meditations or short chapters in my book.
You can
find my book online at Xulon, my publisher, Amazon, Barnes and
Nobles. and other places. It is available in kindle version at
Amazon and Nook version at Barnes and Noble, as well as paperback
version.
This is the
Amazon link to the order page for my book:
If you
prefer you can order directly from me as well. E-mail me at
jesuschild54@hotmil.com
for specifics, if you wish to take that route.)
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