Recently I have spent time with several caregivers.  My sister and my brother are providing great care to our parents and I have also spent time with some other spouses, and adult children in this serving role.

In many of these cases the caregivers are bound to the person for whom they care in a deep love commitment.  This makes it very challenging to set limits or margins in the relationship.

Caregivers are an excellent model of sacrificial servanthood.  My Dad has been the caregiver for my Mom over the past five years as she has descended into dementia and for the past 6 months he has spent every day in the nursing home required after her stroke.  He has poured out his life to care for her.  All of the phone calls revolve around Mom’s day — “Did she speak?”, “How much did she eat?”, “Did she respond to people coming by?”  My Dad’s life has been focused on her needs, her care, and providing any support that might help her improve.

God is my caregiver.  He never tires of being with me.  He hears my sighs of relief and he can tell not only my physical state but also my mental, emotional, social, and spiritual needs.

God does not need respite.

God can stay up all night — night after night.

God is motivated from pure, unconditional love.

God is not embarrassed  or awkward as he serves me.

Thank you God…

Forgive my complaints, and please forgive my self-centered view of life that makes my needs and my pains the center of the universe much too often.