A Caregiver’s Story

/ pastorpete51 / 5 Comments

I was so blessed by my fellow blogger, Hope’s post over on Patiently Hopeful that I had to share this with my readers. I really enjoyed her insight that being a caregiver is not only for those in long-term care. Being a mother (or father) is caregiving. Being a pastor, a teacher or a coach, we are each entrusted with the job of caring for someone. But there are also times in life when that caregiving role demands far more and presses us to our limits. That is when the lessons learned, as Hope tells us, will be most needed. Have a blessed day everyone!

What caregiving is teaching me…

My Poem Soon Was Crushed

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My poem soon was crushed
Under the tramp of hurried feet
That left chaos in my calendar
And trouble on my street

But like the little lizard
Who hides among the leaves
Finding there a place to rest
And safely rides the breeze

I stopped and I remembered
That God commands the dawn
When I may wake to hope again
His work to carry on

Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, 
and you will find rest for your souls. Matthew 11:29 ESV

Stop and Think About It

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"To the choirmaster, of the sons of Korah, according to Alamoth, a song. 
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble." Psalm 46:1 ESV

We don’t know what kind of trouble David faced when he wrote Psalm 46, but it is interesting that instead of trying to figure out his own solution, he decides to write a song. In the first line of his lyrics, he starts to remind himself of who God is and how He always comes through to help.

The intriguing feature of David’s song is that he divides it into three parts, and at the end of each one he writes the word, “Selah”, which can be roughly translated, “Stop and think about that for a moment.” David wants us to remember that when we face dangers and difficulties, instead of panicking, and running away, or running to the wrong place for help, we need to stop and think about God’s faithfulness, power and love. Now, we don’t necessarily need to write ourselves a song like David did to remind ourselves of God’s faithfulness, though that’s not a bad idea. Just begin singing the words of Psalm 46 in your heart. God doesn’t care what melody you use. Then, no matter what happens, remember that we can always trust in Jesus. So stop what you’re doing and think about that!