But at the last minute, like I do so many things, I thought, why not.
This is appearing under the auspices of Five Minute Friday,and we have word prompts for each day in October, shown below.
October 1 - This post
October 2 - Talk To A Caregiver
October 3 - Create A Caregiver Haven
October 4 - A Caregiver's Raw Hope
October 5 - A Caregiver's Trust
October 7 - Caregiver, Don't Hold Too Tight
October 8 - Caregiver, You Will Find Freedom In Truth
October 9 - A Caregiving Plan?
October 10 - A Caregiver's Listening Heart
October 11 - Caregiving Remembrances?
October 12 - Caregiver, Write It Down!
October 13 - Caring For God
October 14 - Caregiver, Don't Try Too Hard
October 15 - The Caregiver Will Remain
October 16 - Readings For Caregivers
October 17 - Caregiver, Grow A Thick Skin
October 18 - Caregiver, Share Your Heart
October 19 - A Caregiver's Brave
October 20 - A Caregiver So Far From Home
October 21 - Caregiver, Give Hope
October 22 - Caregiver, Bring The Light
October 23 - Caregiver, Sometimes Nothing Works
October 24 - A Caregiver's Life, Revised
October 25 - Why, Caregiver? Just Because
October 26 - Caregiver, Let Change Come
October 27 - Caregiver To The Stars
October 28 - Caregiver, Stay Connected With God
October 29 - Caregiver, Follow A Routine
October 30 - Caregiver, Refine Your Life
October 31 - Caregiver, You Still Have The Rest Of Your Life
So...Worship For Caregivers.
Caregivers gotta worship. They really, really need to attend church, and as much as possible be involved in the church community.
Why?
- Caregiving's too much for any mortal; God's got bigger shoulders. Let Him take the load when you can't
- It's all too easy to get wrapped up in the despairing now of caregiving. Worship offers perspective, and hope.
- A spiritual community offers resources in depth (usually, if it's a good one) that can give you everything from moral support to offers of competent and sincere respite care. Someone dropping by with a meal after a really bad day can be such a boost!
And my five minutes are up.
What would you add?
Our musical theme is from Montell Jordan, with Shake Heaven. Enjoy!
Dear Andrew, what a generous spirit you have! The hope and encouragement you offer are welcome whether you're caregiving or not. Isolation is the enemy of the caregiver, and the thief of those called to service. Thank you for the exhortation to unite the two in spiritual community. Prayers and blessings for today.
ReplyDeleteAlice, thank you so much...and I love the way you put it, that "isolation...is the thief of those called to service'. That's perfect!
DeleteAnd thank you so much for the prayers.
Good for you Andrew! Why not? It's like chin ups for your brain. Do what you can when you can and leave it when you can't.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Christy! It IS kind of fun.
DeleteAndrew, As always, you inspire with your insight. In the midst of your own suffering, you see the needs of others. Worship offers perspective and hope, it takes our eyes off of ourselves and our weariness and helps us soar on wings like eagles.
ReplyDeleteDebbie, I love how you put it, that worship helps us soar on wings like Eagles...thank you so much for this!
DeleteYes we do! I remember the days of not wanting to worship because of the sheer exhaustion of caregiving. Praying for you!
ReplyDeleteKaren, I think that's the number one reason most caregivers fall away from worship...complete exhaustion. Thanks so much for sharing your experience, and most especially for the prayers.
DeleteThis is the first year in many years that I won't be participating in 31 Days. So I'm glad to see that you are! I'll have more time to read if I'm not writing. :)
ReplyDeleteLisa, I wound up backing myself into not one but TWO 31 day blogging challenges (the other in on www.dailygracequotes.wordpress.com)
DeleteNot the brightest thing I ever did, but we'll see how it goes.
Thanks for being here!
I look forward to seeing what you post each day.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Jan! I'm trying to stay a day or two ahead as energy permits, but there's no 'plan'. It'll all be a surprise to me, too.
DeleteYes!! I cannot be well for Jerry unless I first worship God! We're fortunate that our church offers online services, so there is no excuse for not joining with our church community. One way or another, we SHAKE HEAVEN!
ReplyDeleteGiving God the Glory!
Diana, you're so right...I can't be a good patient, either, unless God comes first. Online services are great! We generally do TV church, though, since the computer's in a bad place for watching (we have landline).
DeleteAye, glory to Him, and SHAKE HEAVEN!
I love this - "God's got bigger shoulders, let Him take the load." That is so absolutely perfect, Andrew!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Carol...and thank you for being here!
DeleteI'm so glad you are here!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Tara! I think this is going to be fun. Tiring, but worthwhile.
DeleteHi Andrew - I have seen your comments on a couple of blogs I read, and clicked over a few times, but I don't know if I have ever commented before. We care for my husband's mother-in-law in our home. We brought her home from the nursing home so she could die at home - she was down to 90 lbs. But she thrived under one on one care - that was four years ago. She is still slowly declining, though, and it's hard to watch. Worship helps me keep things in perspective while it encourages my heart as well.
ReplyDeleteBarbara, wow...your generous spirit is one the very best witnesses to Christ's love I have seen in a very long time. You're awesome.
DeleteI'm sorry that she's in decline now, and I'll keep you and your husband in my prayers.