We often hear people talk about relying on God’s strength through the difficult times. But what does that look like? How do we find strength for the long haul, especially when we are so tired?
We can learn from the ways Jesus handled His own caregiving responsibilities while on Earth.
- He frequently spent time alone in prayer
- He often prayed with His closest friends
- He publicly thanked God the Father for what God had provided.
- He faced each crisis with calm assurance because He had placed His confidence in God
- He delegated work to other people
- He grieved the losses of those He loved with a sense of hope, because He had an eternal perspective
I am sure if you think and pray upon it, you will find many examples from Jesus’ life that model for us the attributes that can make our caregiving more rewarding and fulfilling. But even if we just focus on the above points, we can grow closer to our Lord as we do the work of being His hands and feet for our loved ones.
Look to Jesus as your ultimate model of a healthy caregiver (emotionally and spiritually), and follow His example in your own caregiving work. Obviously prayer is an important part of this, as many of his techniques involved prayer. If you are at a loss for prayer, don’t worry. God already gave us one; The Lord’s Prayer. Don’t forget to ask others to pray for you and your family as you navigate this difficult time of life. I know when I have had my greatest pain and hardships, I could actually feel the prayers of others when I felt too lost to pray myself.
Jesus faced each crisis with calm assurance because He had placed His confidence in God. We need to ask ourselves if we are keeping God’s promises forefront in our mind; which can be difficult to do when overwhelmed with your own life, plus taking care of someone. How can I switch over to this calm assurance? For myself, I leave post it notes on the mirror in my bathroom. Little inspirational sayings or bible verses. Goodness knows that my mind is so busy thinking of what I have to do next, that these positive thoughts might never enter my brain if I don’t have some sort of reminder. The same goes for the eternal perspective. Reminders and prayers definitely help.
Yes, Jesus delegated. You can too! Using the Genus™ app, you can create a care circle of friends and family to provide respite care or perhaps a meal. If your church is involved with using Genus™, then maybe you can enlist help there as well. Don’t feel you shouldn’t ask for help. Jesus asked for help. Remember that you are providing an opportunity for others to be blessed by being His hands and feet for your loved one. Being a martyr and trying to do it all yourself doesn’t honor God or your loved one.
Jesus did all these things and more. We can use him as our Givers of Care Role Model. He wants to help. All we have to do is ask!
If you are involved in caring for an older adult, maybe suffering from Dementia or Alzheimer’s, or possibly suffering from a physical disability; you already know how difficult communicating with them can sometimes be. It is understandable that our Receivers of Care can perceive us as ‘bossy’. It is also understandable that we won’t like that perception one bit!
If your life is wrapped up in the challenges of caring for a loved one with Alzheimer’s, you can’t help but think, “Is this going to be me one day? Am I at risk for this disease?” It can be pretty darn scary.
Being a caregiver for chronically ill patient can take its toll on Givers of Care. In fact, we often just avoid thinking about it because even that adds to the stress. Doing your homework on combating stress will benefit you and your loved one. If we don’t take care of ourselves, who will? And if we don’t take care of ourselves, then our loved ones suffer as well.