Vulnerability

Recently over the July 4th week-end I returned from a few days trip to visit family in IA and MN.  I went with a widow friend of mine.  It is about a 500 mile trip one way. Whenever my friend and I do this trip I always am more aware of my vulnerability.  We are two widows, I pushing seventy years old and she seventy-one years old.

Yet as a recent devotion I read pointed out, there is very little in this earthly life that is secure.  Even if I sit in my "secure" home all the time, something unplanned and even devastating can happen.  The only true place of security is in the Lord and in my trust in His faithfulness.

I remember back to those days when I was a caregiver for my husband, Wayne.  As I watched him deteriorate step by step and become more and more disabled, I felt very vulnerable and often fearful. Yet knowing I had a faithful God who was in control is what kept me going during those difficult days.  He can also be your source of comfort and security, dear caregiver.

Feeling vulnerable is really a good place to be.  This is because it makes us aware of our own weakness and limitations.  This in turn can make us more willing to recognize that the Lord is the only one who is in control.  It then draws us to His strength and power.  We further begin to learn to rest things with Him and to trust Him to lead and guide us.

Our vulnerability also teaches us that the Lord is the only source of our joy.  The things of this earth are insecure and will never provide lasting satisfaction.  Only a relationship with the Lord can do that. That does not mean we will always feel "happy" in the way the world defines that word.  There are many things in this world which make us sad, and joy is very different than happiness.  Joy in the Lord is possible, however, in spite of circumstances.  Joy is possible for you, dear caregiver, in spite of how difficult your care-giving experience with your loved one may become.  This is because the Lord and not the empty things of this world is the source of joy.

Psalm 28:7 in the Old Testament of the Bible says this, "The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him, and I am helped.  My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to Him in song."  Psalm 63:7-8 says, "Because You are my help, I sing in the shadow of Your wings.  My soul clings to You; Your right hand upholds me." (Both verses are from the NIV 1984 translation.) Realizing your own vulnerability is a good thing, dear caregiver.  Rest in Him and in His strength.  Find joy in Him.