Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and He will establish your plans. In all your ways acknowledge HIM and He will make your paths straight.
— Proverbs 5:3
— Proverbs 5:3
Rest Ministries provides such wonderful devotions. I want to share this one with you for your inspiration and encouragement. I also suggest you read the comments at the end of her blog on her blog site.
Being overwhelmed isn’t bad. Lynn explains how it depends on what you are overwhelmed with.“No one is like You, Lord; You are great, and Your name is mighty in power” (Jeremiah 10:6). I am feeling overwhelmed by my physical fatigue . . . pain. . . fears. . . dreams deferred . . . pain in the lives of those I love. . . uncertainly about my future. . . carrying burdens in isolation. False guilt emerges about feeling overwhelmed when the Lord has exhorted me to trust Him. He has overcome. He knows his plans for me are good. I love and trust Him above anyone and anything else. Yet, I get overwhelmed by the feelings whirling in my circumstances. Why is He not overwhelmed by the heaviness I carry? The burdens are real. I don’t want to “spiritualize” them away. My focusing inward and dwelling on what cannot be answered in the “now” takes my focus off the One who is dwelling with me in all of these feelings. It is not that He wants me to negate them. He wants me to be overwhelmed by Him so that the burdens are not foremost. He is. Although He is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow, I am not! I fluctuate in how I feel from moment to moment in the same day. He beckons me to enter His rest where His peace is found. There, unlike the slippery slopes I create for myself, we are on even ground, yoked together, side by side, carrying the loads. I can then keep in step with Him allowing Him to set the pace, sharing with Him in the “now.” He wants me to unload my feelings honestly. With Him I can, for He alone knows just what to do with them. Remaining close, I can hear His counsel and watch Him dismantle my confusion. Prayer: Lord, You are surrounding me and within me. That is the overwhelming You want me to feel. Help me to let all else fall aside to be replaced by Your care. Amen. About the Author: Lynn Severance is a retired elementary classroom teacher. Since 1983, she has lived with vestibular dysfunction: constant dizziness, sessions of vertigo and related side effects of nausea, balance problems, neck and back pain, visual tracking and eye fatigue. She is a breast cancer survivor having gone through surgery and chemotherapy treatments in 1987-88. She lives in Lynnwood, Washington. Do visit her blog at http://lynn-severance.blogspot.com or visit restministries.com
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We can all talk with God anytime and should. The prayers we make either verbally or silently are our expression of faith that God listens and hears our need. But, sometimes, words are hard to come by or we don’t know what to say. I have found some historical prayers that have become very meaningful to me. These prayers express much in a few words.
One such prayer is very old and has helped focus my mind in a right relationship with God. It expresses thankfulness and my needs at the same time. It goes like this: Lord God, almighty and everlasting Father, you have brought me in safety to this new day. Preserve me with your mighty power, that I may not fall into sin, nor be overcome by adversity. And in all I do direct me to the fulfilling of your purpose, through Jesus Christ, my Lord. Amen Another prayer from THE DIVINE HOURS compiled by Phyllis Tickle goes like this: Most loving Father, whose will it is for us to give thanks for all things, to fear nothing but the loss of you, and to cast all our care on you who cares for us. Preserve me from faithless fears and worldly anxieties, that no clouds of this mortal life may hide from me the light of that love which is immortal, and which you have given to us in your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord; who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen I connect with the words, “faithless fears and worldly anxieties”. It is God’s call to me to trust in HIM as I acknowledge the limits of my abilities and powers. God tells me that in Him all will be well. This reminds me of some old, but powerful words from St. Theresa of Avila expressing deep trust in God. Be not perplexed, Be not afraid All thing are passing, God never changes Patient endurance attains all things, He who has God lacks nothing God alone suffices. Martin Luther wrote two short prayers, one for morning when we wake up and one for evening when we are ready for sleep. They are prayers of trust and dependence. LUTHER'S MORNING PRAYER In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. I thank you, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have kept me this night from all harm and danger; and I pray that You would keep me this day also from sin and every evil, that all my doings and life may please You. For into Your hands I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let Your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me. Amen. LUTHER'S EVENING PRAYER In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. I thank you, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have graciously kept me this day; and I pray that You would forgive me all my sins where I have done wrong, and graciously keep me this night. For into Your hands, I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let Your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me. Amen. We not only have historical and helpful prayers, prayed by millions over the history of the church, we also have a very important prayer given to us by Jesus. It was Jesus’ response when the disciples asked him to teach them how to pray. Here is the prayer taught by Jesus: Our Father, who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy Name. Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth, As it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, As we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, For ever and ever. Amen. So, if you find yourself looking for words to pray, pause for a moment and try any of these prayers. As you seek God’s blessings in your life (and the one you are caring for) slowly ponder on one of these prayers to hear why these prayers have been classics for Christian over the ages. These, among other classic prayer, have been helpful in the spiritual life of Christians. “Resilience” is the ability to respond creatively to stressful, pressure packed, anxiety-producing situations such as a caregiver might experience. A resilient person, rather than being deformed, diminished, or even destroyed by such traumatic, tension-filled circumstances, is able to engage those conditions in healthy, redemptive ways that bring some degree of wholeness.
St. Paul provides words from his extremely anxiety-producing situation. Consider his situation as he coined the words below. He was sitting in a Roman jail with no certainty that he would be release to continue this ministry or keep his life. In light of Paul’s circumstances, it would be wise to probe his advice. We read in Philippians 4:6-7, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus”. He opens the door to Christian resilience. Caregivers need resilience. The person we are caring for need us to be resilient, to meet so many different challenges of caregiving with creatively, hope, strength, and wisdom. The problem is no one has all those qualities innately within themselves. We value ideas and suggestions from others who might have traveled a road similar to ours. We find new energy when we can share our load with others. Or better yet, when we find a word from scripture speaking directly to us, like God understands. Maybe we find a book from an author whose journey was similar to ours. Some can find that even 15 minutes of meditation or inspiring music gives us a moment of sabbath time. Paul is suggesting a rhythm to life for a resilient Christian. First, Paul finds a rhythm in prayer. For Paul, prayer is like breathing, He does not see prayer as a negotiation with God to get a particular result or resolve an issue in a favorable manner. Prayer for Paul is a life giving, life transforming relationship with God. Prayer affirms that we are not alone. Then Paul mentions supplication as an acknowledgement that we lack necessary resources to meet what confronts us and affirms that God has the resources to provide what is needed. Supplication is a deep inner awareness of our radical dependence on God, offering our selves to HIM. The third declaration of Paul is thanksgiving, a word Paul mentions just before requesting. Thanksgiving is not the response to a fulfilled request. It is the hallmark of a heart abandoned to God, grateful for who God is for us. God already knows what we need, so our request is not to inform. Our request is response to Jesus offer to cast our care, our burden our labor, in prayer, towards Jesus so that we might find rest and peace. Jesus invites us to ask, seek and knock. We are not abdicating responsibility, but making ourselves available to God to be with us and do whatsoever God leads us to do. Our desire is to become a means of God’s grace in this situation on behalf of our loved one. When we find ourselves enmeshed in stressful, pressure-packed, anxiety-producing situations, it is often impossible to understand how we can deal with such traumatic, tension-filled circumstances in creative, healthy, redemptive ways. What we find is God can go beyond our understanding or expectation. We can be surprised by grace. Paul’s redemptive word for us is not a “method” but a "mode" of being in God, in which all life is lived. It is not a “reaction” to circumstances but a rhythm of life hid with Christ in God and out of which circumstances are engaged. Watching our loved ones lose many abilities, choices and self control over the time we care for them is painful. The last period of life for many is an experience of losing more and more of independence and personal functions. The reality of death is a legitimate topic of discussion to talked about and even embraced. It is not realistic to believe that our loved one would not die. So to hope that our loved one would not die at some point would be a false hope. Life can be filled with many false hopes. And false hopes will disappoint. Yet the human spirit needs hope for a better day.
Peter in his letter to a suffering people in the early days of the church spoke about a living hope, one that will not disappoint or be false. It was a hope in Jesus. A hope for a better life for our loved one through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. This was a very personal hope for Peter. He was a first hand witness to Jesus’s resurrection. He was there, ran to the empty tomb, saw Jesus appear in the upper room, saw him ascend from the earth. He remembered all the teaching of Jesus pointing to the kingdom of God. The living hope was Jesus, himself. He knew Jesus lives. He knew because Jesus lives, those who look to Jesus and confess faith in him will live with Jesus forever. He remembered Jesus saying he went to prepare a place for us and will come back to take us to be where he is, his home. Stephen Covey teaches successful people begin with the end in mind. You need to know where you want to go to plan and do the steps that will get you there. Keeping the end in mind helps to order our daily tasks and attitudes. Having our living hope in mind helps us plan our tasks and shape our attitude in our daily challenges. Peter talks again about this hope in I Peter 1:13, “Set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed.” Call it the big picture. It is so easy to loose sight of the big picture when we are steeped in the worries of all the distractions in caregiving. The hurtful words, resentments and regrets along with the physical and emotional exhaustion involved in caring take its toll. We can easily loose focus and also hope. Martin Luther wrote these words of encouragement to those carrying burdens. “Pray and let God worry.” That can be hard to do. Hopefully, as we gather together in our Christian Caregiver Support Group we find encouragement in the listening ear of other caregivers. Somehow, we feel understood and not alone. We might pickup up some helpful ideas. We might feel a sense of peace and relaxation in our restful sabbath time. We pray together and feel we are not alone in our worry. We leave with God’s blessing and strength for another day. When Christians pray, share and look at God’s word, we experience the Body of Christ. In some way Jesus Christ is with us. Our hope is renewed. It is a Living Hope. The disciples talked about how their hearts were stirred when Jesus was with them That Living Hope stirs our hearts, also. We may be uncomfortable talking about end of life with the one we love. Your loved one may want to let you know their wishes about dying and it may be your gift to listen. Be ready to give spiritual encouragement. Don’t neglect sharing the living hope that we have in Christ Jesus. Make your last conversations express love. Remember, we are spiritual people having a human experience. Strengthen the spiritual. II Corinthians 4:7-9 But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.
I was thrust into caregiving for my mom following the death of my dad. My first step was getting through the “FOG” of many issues and assessments in hopes of gaining a foothold on the path forward in caring for my mom. My hope was to do everything “right”. Soon I learned that I was a clay jar caregiver. Getting everything “right” was going to be very difficult-impossible. The variables, surprises, questions, communications, and relationships seemed all so complicated. And this was my first time dealing with many of these issues of complicated caregiving. Oh, I had seen others involved in these challenges in my ministry. Now it was my mom and my family. It felt so different. My wife and I went to a conference on grief during this time. We heard a funeral director talk about the difference of helping others with issues of death and grieving and then having the experience himself. At another event, I heard a professional in the field of senior care who had helped many others with caregiving, express the frustration and feelings she was now having to experience within her own family. Professional or not, all caregivers are clay jars. But we, as Paul says, “We have this treasure in our clay jars. The treasure is the glorious presence of Jesus Christ. We are a vessel serving a special purpose and service, in HIS name, for our loved one. Some how and in some way God wants to use us; and through us, to share this treasure with our loved one. We want to share this treasure as we care for their physical, emotional, relational and spiritual needs. And this treasure is the all_surpassing power of God, and how deep and wide is His mercy, grace and love for all of us. Families, and our other responsibilities, can press us from every side While hard pressed, we are not crushed. We may be very perplexed, to be at a loss on how to act or proceed, then we look to God for help and direction. We cannot give up. We are not alone. That is why a few chapters later Paul says in II Corinthians 12:10, “That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weakness, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, I am strong.” It was Christ who strengthened Paul. And Christ will strengthen you, also. In our weakness, let us let Christ shine through. So, clay jar caregivers, keep your self relying on these everlasting arms of Christ. Stay close to Jesus so the treasure that is within you might guide and strengthen you in your calling as a caregiver. You need to take care of yourself spiritually as well as physically and emotionally. Phillips Brooks wrote a Christmas carol we are all familiar with called, “O Little Town of Bethlehem”. He also wrote these words to encourage Christ followers, Feed on Christ And then go and live your life, And it is Christ in you that lives your life, That helps the poor, That tells the truth, That fights the battle, And that wins the crowns. Caregivers may from time to time be visited by an uncomfortable visitor -- GUILT. The visitor can come from any direction. It may be a relative that thinks we are not doing things right. Or general social culture that feels we should do this or that; like there is only one accepted way to provide care. It may be the one we are caring for is never satisfied with how often we visit or how we do their meals or laundry. Guilt may come from our own heart. You second guess whether you are doing things right or doing the right things. The big one is feeling guilty before God. Did you do something wrong to cause this to happen? It this in any way a punishment?
What does scripture say we should do with our feelings of guilt? Even with the most horrible SIN, scripture gives us a clear and forthright instruction. We are to confess our feelings of guilt. That does not mean that what we are feeling is a true moral guilt. It means that we need to get our thoughts and feelings surrounding guilt out into the open in some way. We might be experiencing a mixed bag of strained relationships, confused roles, feelings of inadequacy, etc. woven in with our feelings of guilt. I John 1:8-10 says, “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.” If we are dealing with feelings of guilt, it is important to confess it. There is another option. We can become resentful, bitter, self-defensive or angry. That options just breeds more guilt or self-centeredness. So I suggest confession. Confession is central to restoring right relationships, even with ourselves. parent or spouse if I could go back and start all over. But that is not the case. We are where we are in life. We need a safe place to let our feelings out. As a general rule, caregivers do the best they can do with the information they have at the time. I would be a better caregiver for my mom if I had to do it all over. Then again I might have been a better If God offers grace, after you express your feelings of guilt (or another associated feeling), give yourself grace too. You wake up from a restless sleep. Your mind goes to the loved one you are caring for. You don’t focus on any particular issue. You just think about their suffering and difficulties. Feelings of love surge for your loved one. Then your feelings zero in on the hurt you feel for them. You begin weeping quietly. You remember the better times the two of you experienced. And now you are sad for them and yourself for the times that are left behind. This is not the way you wanted their life to be. Your weeping lingers as you move on to others in your family and your hopes and dreams for them. Sadness is growing as the tears quietly stream down your face. It is going to be one of those nights to let our feelings come out in a slow cry.
Jeremiah is known as the weeping prophet. God gave him a vision of Judah’s future. It wasn’t good. Within the huge collection of prophetic oracles that make up the fifty-two chapters of Jeremiah's witness, one finds more than tears, more than frank admissions of pain, and more than convictions about the evils of Judah. One also finds startling promises of hope, hope found not merely in the possibility of human repentance, but grounded squarely in the amazing grace of God. Such a passage is 31:31-34. In this world we have troubles. Even as Jeremiah was weeping for Israel and Judah, his tears turned to hope that God would make all things new. Jesus is known as our Savior, but Jesus also shows his empathy and compassion through His tears. In John 11 Mary and Martha send for Jesus because Lazarus is very sick. Lazarus dies before Jesus arrives and Mary and Martha are in mourning, surrounded by their Jewish friends. It was when Jesus saw Mary weeping, and all the Jews who had come along side her also weeping, that Jesus shed his tears. He saw the pain being felt by the group. It affected Jesus deeply and he wept. (Jn 11:35) It is okay to weep for someone you love. It is not the loss, but the losing that hurts. The losing of good times, dreams, conversations and autonomy. So we let the feelings flow through us as we slowly and quietly weep our tears so as not to disturb others. Finally, we fall back to sleep as the good thoughts and memories of past times start to enter our mind. Tomorrow will be another day. We need our rest. The bitter/sweet taste of tears has given us some release. The tears slowly dry. Somehow, we are tired again and ready for sleep. And the night passes. Did God just give our feelings a cleansing? Did we experience hurt and love at the same time? Was God trying to share a word with us? “Sing to the Lord, you saints of his; praise his holy name. For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor last a lifetime; weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.” Ps. 30:4-5 If we were to list all the verses that talk about the importance of a single day and our daily activities, that list alone would fill many more pages than I have room.
God’s mercies are new every single day (Lamentations 3:23) God’s strength is provided for us each day to meet the challenges of that particular day (Deut. 3:25) We are advised to put each of our days in proper order (Ps 90:12) Jesus calls us to follow Him daily (Luke 9:23). If there ever is a time we need God with us, it is during the journey of caregiving. To neglect God is to cut ourselves off from our greatest help. That is why we give our members Jesus Calling to encourage you to start the day with God. As we trust God to give us wisdom for today’s decisions, He will lead us a step at a time into what He wants us to be doing in the future. We do not control the future. We barely control our own feelings and words for today. So we come to God. “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress, My God , in whom I trust.’” (Ps 91:1-2) “Living in the present means squarely accepting and responding to it as God’s moment for you now, while it is called today rather than wishing it were yesterday or tomorrow.” Evelyn Underhill. Each day for a caregiver can bring its own surprises and new challenges. We may make our plans and then find ourselves making quick changes. We do not know what each day will bring. It is hard to live with daily obstacles. It is also hard to live with the status quo. The most important, helpful, and supporting thing to keep in mind is to not live it alone. May God be bigger for you than your challenges. May you look to God first and then your challenges. Start the day with God. Remember this is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it. Share the day with God by bringing all your needs, concerns and troubles to Him. He promises to receive our burdens. Jesus says, “ask and you will receive, seek and you will find, knock and it shall be open to you.” Look for His blessings. God may not give all you want, but He will give you what you need. Giving thanks is a great boost to our spirit. As God responds to your prayers, remember to thank Him. It is the trial of our faith that is precious. If we go through the trial, there is so much wealth laid up in our heavenly bank account to draw upon when the next test comes. Oswald Chambers Establish a call partner who can listen and understand your caregiving journey. Loneliness and isolation are the greatest threats to caregivers. Whether family, friend or another person in our group, contact them for an ear and prayer partner. Sometimes they give you a different vantage point to see God. If you want to hear God’s voice clearly and you are uncertain, then remain in His presence until He changes that uncertainty. Often, much can happen during this waiting for the Lord. Sometimes, He changes pride into humility, doubt into faith and peace. Corrie Ten Boom. Do you have a friend who will wait on the Lord with you? Don’t neglect the Body of Christ. Attending worship is probably the largest gathering of the Body of Christ. There is healing just by being fully present to God with the Body of Christ. It is a gathering of wounded people, trusting in God and offering praise and thanks together. We are not made to go through life alone. But the Body of Christ is also where two or three are gathered together in “My Name”. God may come to you through someone else and may work through you to encourage another. With God’s help you can make it through today. Remember, it is only for a season. In our encouraging one another, we do not want to imply that the goal or norm of human life is to get past all suffering. Jesus tells his disciples before his death, “In the world you have trouble. But be encouraged! I have conquered the world.” (John 16:33)
Julian of Norwich, fourteenth-century mystic, reflects on this truth: “He did not say; You will not be troubled, you will not be belabored, you will not be disquieted; but he said: You will not be overcome.” Life on earth involves us in suffering -- our own and that of others. This is only natural in a finite world where life and death weave a constant dance. The simple truth is that we do not grow -- physically, emotionally, or spiritually -- without encountering, coping with, and learning from suffering. Certainly we learn far more from experiences that push us out of our comfort zones than from a life of smooth sailing. And as most of us discover, we cannot become truly empathetic or compassionate toward others if we have not known loss and hardship ourselves. St John of Kronstadt (nineteenth century) wisely counseled; “Do not fear the conflict, and do not flee from it; where there is no struggle, there is no virtue. Our faith, trust, and love are proved and revealed in adversities, that is, in difficult and grievous outward and inward circumstances, during sickness, sorrow and privations.” In the spiritual life, without suffering there can be no maturing into the fullness of our humanity. The way of the cross entails dying to our small, ego-centered life so that we may rise into our true selfhood -- the identity that finds its center and ground in God. This true human identity is represented and fully embodied in Christ, “the image of the invisible God” (Col. 1:15). We too, are created in the divine image, and as believers we are promised the destiny of being conformed to Christ (Rom 8:29) in whom we recover the beauty and clarity of that image. I do not believe God actively creates suffering for us, surely God allows us to undergo adversities with a continual hope that we will open up to the very real transformations they can work in us if we are willing. The questions we ask of one another and of ourselves in times of trial are important. What are you learning from this experience? How does it enlarge your view of life, of others, of yourself? Is there an invitation from God within this experience that is new of surprising to you? These are questions aimed at evoking our deeper wisdom and guidance from the Spirit dwelling within. Nothing of our life’s experience is lost or wasted when we are open to grace -- even if we have made terrible choices, affecting our lives and the lives of others for years; even if we bear and inflict permanent scars; even if we have lost years of productive work to chronic illness or depression; even if our life seems that most boring, meaningless existence possible. God has promised to use our life experiences in ways that build toward a new configuration of goodness: “We know that God works all things together for good for the ones who love God.” (Rom. 8:28) God continues the long, patient process of reweaving our broken threads into a new tapestry. Our faith proclaims that ultimately God will prevail, unconditional love will reveal its fullness, the New Creation will manifest in glory, and --as Julian of Norwich saw in one of her revelations and put so memorable to words -- “Sin is necessary, but all will be well, and all will be well, and every kind of thing will be well.” This is our deep faith, our realistic hope, and the source, sustenance, and destiny of our love. What greater encouragement could we hope for? ‘God had one son on earth without sin, but never one without suffering.” Author: Augustine It is hard to witness the decline of our aging spouse or parent. Loss of hearing makes communication difficult. Loss of sight limits enjoyable stimulation. Loss of memory swells safety concerns for the caregiver and agitation for our loved one. Chronic pain brings dependence on pills. Dr. Nancy Copeland-Payton in her book, The Losses of Our Lives says, “Maturing is losing things we have outgrown. We now lose things we haven’t outgrown -- things we need to sustain our lives”.
Our culture values independence and fights against aging. We spend billions of dollars to fight aging. For many, old age brings frailty and dependency. We don’t want to be a burden on our children or our spouse. Losses in Aging means a changing agenda in our lives. Instead of feeling worthless because we cannot do what we used to do, there is a new agenda to be discovered. We may not be able to cook a meal or care for the yard like we used to. Those who age gracefully come to terms with self and accept loss as part of aging. We name, morn and let go of the things and abilities we lose. The new agenda brings wisdom that should come with age. Our old wounds and painful memories can finally heal as we see the past anew. As our fears, displeasures and disgust for those aspects or our selves heal, we loose the poison we spew out at others. When we stop trying to control the uncontrollable, when we release our endless complaining, and we accept what life brings to us, we learn to see life by a different light that isn’t earthbound. In our pain and suffering we are still called as Christians to live more from our “created in the image of God” center. As we approach our true home we also allow our selves to focus on our soul as much as our body. Phil. 3:12-14, “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” (Paul wrote this while in prison) Phil 1:21, “For me to live is Christ and to die is gain.” I Cor. 13:12-13, “Now we see but a poor reflection; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” We must never lose sight of the eternal goal. Our bodies waste away, it is our spirit and soul that remain forever. Caring for the soul is more important than caring for the body. Caring for the soul calls us to focus on our hope. |
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Sue Brettmann RN has been devoted to Caregiving both in her career as an RN, Parish Nurse and caring for her aging parents through the last 40 plus years. She has experience in trauma, home care and hospice. Her strong faith walk and relationship with Christ has always been a part of her care and she is committed to helping others see the gift of Christ in their personal journey's. Archives
October 2021
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