Favored by God – Caregivers at Christmas

Christmas can be particularly challenging for caregivers.

Whether you’re caring for a disabled or dying loved one,

a family member with special needs,

a house full of children,

or a chronically ill person, your resources are already spread thin, so this time of year can push you beyond your limit.

If you know a caregiver, consider ways you could care for them this season.

If you are a caregiver, let others know what you need – a good night sleep? a favorite meal? an hour to take a breather?

And remember there is eternal value in what you do:

Have you ever considered that taking care of another being is as valuable an enterprise for the caregiver as it is for the soul in need of care?

I mean, it must be.

Otherwise, God would have designed children to be independent shortly after exiting the womb . . .

Baby birds would hatch knowing how to fly . . .

People would neatly deactivate at the first sign of aging . . .

Too often, we see caregiving as an interruption, a burden to be hired out, an inconvenience, something that stands in the way of us achieving our goals, an undesirable season we hope will pass quickly

But I don’t think that’s how God sees it.

Taking care of another being is profitable in both directions.

When we take time to care for another being, it pulls us from the linear forward thrust of life and forces us to live in the moment

Of the sponge bath

The bedtime story

The spoonful of soup

Of the temperature taking

The hand holding

The chemo room

Of the lost library book

The meltdown

The shared laugh, the retold story

The extra minute.

Life is not about what we accomplish but about becoming like Jesus 

Through loving

Through serving

Through being there for others

It’s easy to lose that

And never find it again

But there it is.

If you are caring for someone – a child, a parent, a spouse, a stranger – consider yourself favored by God.

He has smiled on you in His willingness to inhabit your hands, your feet, your ears, your voice, your smile.

He has visited you with a special grace – one that streaks across the sky like a shooting star and only those that are watching for it don’t miss it.

He has allowed you to live in this moment rather than in the next

And the beauty of that

Is that He is in the moment

And so You are WITH Him

And He with you

As you care for the other

Whether they are aware of Him or you or anything else.

God is aware

And completely present.

Inhale deeply.

As the world rushes past, know that Jesus lags behind with you.

 “Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’” Matthew 25:37-40