By Laurie Klein
But we have this treasure in jars of clay
to show that this all-surpassing power
is from God and not from us.
—2 Co. 4:7
“My dear widow,” Elisha declared, “no creditor will dare enslave your sons” (my version).
Imagine with me his gravelly chutzpah—classic Old Testament prophet. But her debts were massive. Did his tone soften, grow fatherly?
“Tell me what you have,” he urged.
Her watery gaze must have quavered before his piercing one, along with her hopes. “Sir, we’ve only a smear of oil left in the jar.”
“Ask your neighbors for empty jars. And don’t be shy.”
Do you picture beetling brows, a wrinkled cloak, a visible cloud of garlic breath? The prophet instructed her to hole up in her house with her boys. “Pour that trace of oil from your jar into each borrowed container. Don’t stop until all are full.”
That’s it. She can sell her miracle oil to pay off her husband’s debt, then retain the surplus to fund her family’s future.
Oh, if we could read her mind in this moment, overhear her heart. Culturally doomed to poverty and potential slavery because training, opportunity, and wages were withheld from women, she must have gasped. Her welfare, and that of her sons, had been threatened. Now the little family was divinely endowed.
I am awash in solidarity. But how might we name the miracle?
Let’s call it The Oil of Belonging.
- As if we belong, by faith, to heartening precepts:
so, we ask God, who pledges to answer. - As if we belong, by grace, to dynamic community:
so, we lend, or fund—sometimes sacrificially—the needed resources. - As if we belong, by history, to a culture-in-motion:
so, we increasingly challenge (dare I say lube?) the creaking gears of government. - As if we belong, by gift, to the faith tradition of signs and wonders:
so, we reverently anticipate Spirit-led multiplication. - Lastly, as if we belong, by calling, to the shared struggle of fairness for all:
so, we live as people of mercy.
As recipients of God’s onetime sacrifice offering us eternal hope and provision, we act in the name of the One who sustains all.
So . . . am I, in fact, helpless to effect change?
What if my inmost capacities feel emptied, or woefully low?
“Tell me what you have,” God says.
Despite this world’s unspeakable needs, the Oil of Belonging (newly bequeathed each time we ask!) carries power. Think of it as balm, ready to tame and soothe, heal and prevail.
Perhaps you’ve stroked on a carrier oil laced with an herbal scent. The benefits linger. Might I suggest doing this as a small but deliberate act of consecration? Smooth fragrant oil over your knuckles, wrists, fingertips. Then, take time to pray. You may find thoughtful anointing calms and refocuses body and soul, revitalizing your petitions for the poor, the hungry, the lost, the aggrieved and traumatized, the politically oppressed and dispossessed.
Poet/Theologian Paul J. Pastor writes:
“We must have faith that the soothing, the blessing,
is closer than the harm and will outlast it.
The truth, hard to wait for, and a perilous trail to walk,
is this: There is hope of answer, and redress.”
– The Face of the Deep: Experiencing the Beautiful Mystery of Life with the Spirit
In welcoming the physical nurture of oil, gracing hands and heart, may we also absorb a trace of the peaceable kingdom. After all, the Oil of Belonging gentles anger. Eases fear. Will you join me in this fleeting touch emblematic of heaven?
Let it soak in. Then ask for ways to make a practical difference.
Follow up: Make your own Aromatherapy Oil
No matter the time of year, it’s important to pause and take time to reset and restore. An excellent way to do that? Take a personal retreat. Building a retreat into the rhythm of your life is a spiritual practice often lost in our helter-skelter, busyness-is-next-to-godliness world. This booklet is based on the most popular posts about spiritual retreats published on Godspacelight.com over the last few years and provides resources for taking a spiritual retreat either on your own or with a friend or spouse. Check it out in our shop!
This last week was a bit of a roller coaster for me and I must confess I didn’t always feel grateful. Some very exciting and rewarding things happened, top of the list being the official launch of our new Godspacelight Community Cookbook. But other very frustrating and challenging events wiped out some of my joy. Godspacelight crashed four times over the last week and will probably continue to have problems until we are able to do a major rework of the site and that of course will be very expensive. How do we cope in the midst of such ups and downs?
Give Thanks
First we give thanks, and not just because this is American Thanksgiving week but because it should always be one of our first responses to both good and bad events. My gratitude garden above always reminds me of this. As I made this list my joy cup overflowed.
First I am grateful for the Murdoch grant that Circlewood, which was birthed out of Tom’s and my ministry Mustard Seed Associates, just received. One of the main reasons they received this grant was because they own the land, which Tom and I gifted to them about 5 years ago. This, plus other generous donations will make it possible for them to build infrastructure and finish the building we began seven years ago. Some of you may remember that it was vandalized twice in a couple of months. It was part of the motivation for us to step back and let James Amadon take control.
Second, I am grateful for my good friend Kim Balke, who had a heart transplant done just before the pandemic lockdown. Some of you may remember the beautiful poems and artwork she shared here on Godspace. She is currently in rehabilitation following a hospital stay of 100 days. A good friend started a GofundMe Campaign to help with alterations that need to be done to their house in order for her to come home. I am very inspired by Kim’s perseverance as she works to regain her strength. I am grateful for the many friends who have contributed to her recovery.
Third I am grateful for our new Godspacelight Community Cookbook and the opportunity to launch it with a zoom call with Galloping Gourmet, Graham Kerr on Thursday. Tom and I shared a delightful Facebook live session with him that warmed our hearts with the invitation to share the flavours and stories of the book as though we were sitting down at a great international banquet table. I am also grateful that we will be able to give 10% each to Bread for the World and World Concern, two organizations working with those who rarely have enough food on their tables. You can view the session with Graham Kerr on my YouTube channel if you missed it live.
A couple of weeks ago I discover the website World In Prayer, which provides a weekly email prayer that keeps me in touch with those most vulnerable in our world. Friday’s prayer focused on the successful implementation of the carbon reduction discussions at the COP27 Conference in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt and prayers for those who are already impacted by climate change. Reciting this prayer each morning helps me keep my own small challenges in perspective and for that too I am grateful.
Fourth I am grateful for the many of you who expressed your concerns when the website kept crashing and I mentioned that we need to do a total, and very expensive, website overhaul. Thank you for those who said “we use Godspace resources all the time, how can we give?” and thank you for those who suggested a GoFundMe campaign which we will probably launch in a few weeks. At this point the best way you can help is by purchasing copies of the cookbook and other Godspacelight resources or by registering for the Advent Quiet Day in a couple of weeks. Most of the profits from these go towards the upkeep of the website.
Fifth, this week, I was able to give one of my beautiful cabled beanies to a friend with cancer. I am very grateful that I am able to use my talents in this way and share the love of God with those who feel God is a long way away.
As you can see the list goes on and on. Once we sit down and intentionally give thanks, we realize that life is very good and filled with joyful gratitude.
Share
Second we share both the highlights and the downturns. One of my frequent reminders from this week is that we are all meant to be part of community. When we carry burdens alone we are easily overwhelmed by what we carry. When we share it the load becomes manageable. Sharing our joyful gratitude also helps. As I mentioned above, following Kim’s journey inspires me to persevere in situations that initially suggest I should give up. And sharing about the crashing of the website made me aware of how many supportive people want to help.
Dream
Dreaming is usually at the top of my list, my first step towards resolution. However, this week I discovered it can also be a response to support and encouragement. Expressing gratitude, and sharing my concerns with friends are great ways to stir my imagination and seed the possibility of creative responses. I love that I can involve others in this dreaming too. If you have suggestions for revamping the Godspacelight website so that it can become an even better place for people to come to access resources, please let me know.
Prayer cards are available in the shop for many occasions and seasons–from everyday pauses and Lenten ruminations to breath meditations and Advent reflections, enjoy guided prayers and beautiful illustrations designed to delight and draw close. Many are available in single sets, sets of three, and to download–even bundled with other resources!
A contemplative service with music in the spirit of Taize. Carrie Grace Littauer, prayer leader, with music by Kester Limner and Andy Myers.
Thank you for praying with us!
My Peace, God is Forgiveness — Copyright and all rights reserved by GIA/Les Presses de Taizé, Permission to podcast/stream the music in this service obtained from One License with license #A-710-756.
On Christ the Solid Rock — Public domain hymn, arrangement and additional verse by Kester Limner, Shared under the Creative Commons License, Attribution (CC-BY)
Lord Be With Us (Kyrie) — Text and music by Kester Limner, shared under the Creative Commons License, Attribution (CC-BY)
Were You There (Folk Arrangement) — Traditional Black American Spiritual Arrangement by Kester Limner, shared under the Creative Commons license, attribution (CC-BY)
Melissa has asked if I would do my third World Toilet Day post in a row. How could I refuse!
Did You Know?
More people in the world have a mobile phone than a toilet. Of the world’s seven billion people, six billion have mobile phones. However, only 4.5 billion have access to toilets or latrines – meaning that 2.5 billion people, mostly in rural areas, do not have proper sanitation.
I want to start with this quote. I do like a good statistic. But the more I look at this I see that there are 1 billion people who do not own mobile phones but 2.5 billion people who do not have proper sanitation. From my reading of this there are people who own mobile phones who do not have proper sanitation. How can one see owning a mobile phone as more important than being able to go to the toilet in peace, safety and hygienically?
Is it lack of knowledge? Is it lack of understanding? Is it lack of awareness of the importance of good hygiene? This really has left me pondering.
All of you who have read my previous posts on World Toilet Day will know how passionate I am about toilets. I am having a bit of a worry at the moment because I am going to stay with a friend who has just moved house and I am wondering about how many toilets she has in her house now, especially as she has told me her daughter and her family, which includes a husband and two kids, might be staying the same time as me.
I decided to google the history of toilets and it turns out they have been around since Neolithic times with an understanding of the need for bodily waste to be somewhere away from where people are living. So why do 2.5 billion people not have access to proper sanitation?
Another quote:
accepted patterns dissolve and uncertainty grows, we become more vulnerable to feelings of insecurity, anxiety and fear
Michael Meade, Mosaic Voices podcast page – healing and making whole https://www.mosaicvoices.org/episode-299-healing-and-making-whole
I think this quote might be of help. As Wikipedia says, the developing world is struggling to get good sanitation. I wonder if the above quote is a clue. All of us across the world are facing a time of “accepted patterns dissolving and changing” which we are all struggling with in the West but imagine if you are in a developing country, a war-torn country, in a refugee camp where you have no stability. War is raging. There is famine. You are displaced from what you know and love. The whole population is dealing with “feelings of insecurity, anxiety and fear”. What is going to be most important – communication or sanitation?
I know if I was fearful for my family, my children, my friends, I would want to be able to contact them so would put my money into making sure I had a good phone that could be charged up quickly and easily. If I could get money through to feed myself and my family via my phone I could see that as the most important thing. When I needed to go to the toilet then I would wish there was somewhere safe to go but for the majority of the time it may not occur to me. And for the men who are very much leading in these countries it is only when they need to defecate that they would probably think about it at all.
Also what is more glamorous if you are a young man wanting to look good in your developing country – making sure there are toilets or carrying a gun and a phone?
So as I ponder this I do not blame the people who have the phone but no toilet. I think of the unstable world we all live in and pray “Your Kingdom come, Lord” as well as “please help us all to forgive ourselves and each other”.
And then I will donate some more money to https://www.toilettwinning.org/ or https://www.wateraid.org/stories/toilets-save-lives or https://www.christianaid.org.uk/ or other charities like this.
Photo by Gabor Monori on Unsplash
Did you know? Godspace has many resources available for the season of Autumn and the season of Thanksgiving! From harvest helps and reflections, holiday guides, an online retreat, litanies/liturgies, prayers, and more – check it out on our Seasons & Blessings page!
Many of you know that the house church we host in Nashville is called thinplace. We have led a thinplace gathering in three different states and in many different forms including a zoom church group on Tuesday nights that started during covid and is still going strong.
The history of thinplace begins back in 2001. My husband Rob and I went on our first trip to the UK that summer. We were going on a three week adventure to experience some of the alt worshipping communities (creative worship communities) we’d heard about and to study at Wycliff Hall at Oxford. It was an amazing trip and truly the first pilgrimage we ever took, even before we really understood what going on pilgrimage and being a pilgrim was all about!
During our time at Wycliff Hall we encountered the word “ thinplace” for the very first time! It just happened to be that while I was in a workshop doing contemplative painting, Rob was in a class led by Esther De Waal. Who is one of the godmothers of Celtic Christianity.
So what’s a thinplace?
Thinplace: the Celtic Christian term for the places that are thin, the places where heaven and earth touch, places where you can and do experience The Holy…experience God’s presence.
The Celtic Christians believed that there were physical places where the Spirit could be felt, where God’s presence was tangible, where the veil between heaven and earth is THIN.
The Celtic saints built their monasteries at these places.
Places like Iona in Scotland, the Holy Island of Lindesfarne in England, and much of Ireland would be considered thinplaces.
For you, a Thinplace might be by the water or in the woods, hiking or taking a walk in nature, at the ocean, at a river or waterfall, in the mountains, or other places of beauty where it’s easy to feel the presence of the Spirit… like watching a sunset or the stars at night.
Finding Your Thinplace….
We all have places where we experienced the presence of God…experienced being close to The Holy, but how do we experience more of this in our everyday lives? Rob and I came home from that first trip to England asking just this question. What would that look like?
One of the things we did first was think about how our home might become a thinplace for our family and for other people. We began to pray that God’s peace would fill our home and that guests would feel this. We took the TV out of our family room/livingroom/lounge so it wouldn’t be the first thing that got turned on when we came home from work. We started choosing art that spoke to us, rather than things we’d inherited from our families. We wanted the environment in our home to fell peaceful and have beauty. Just so you know we had two young sons, a dog and a small house and a clergy budget, so this wasn’t extravagant change all at once, but rather a process and a process of thinking differently about our lives. More Silence, more Rest, more Intention.
Iona
Finding Your Thinplace Retreats and Pilgrimages
In spring 2022, I made a pilgrimage to Iona in Scotland for an artist retreat. I just knew I needed to go. I knew I needed to be on Iona, one of my favorite places on the planet. AND I knew I needed to do art, to create art in this amazing place! The two years of covid and lock down had taken it’s toll on this extrovert with anxiety and depression issues and I needed to be on pilgrimage in the worst way!
My cup was empty. I needed to find ways to refill it so I could keep pouring it out!
I traveled to Iona with my husband Rob and my sister Lucy. For some reason, Rob traveled with one of the oldest suitcases we own, the one we took on our very first pilgrimage in 2003! In it, he found one of my business cards from the early 2000s and our days in Cincinnati. It was interesting that it didn’t say “freerangeworship” on the card, instead it said
“Thinplace. A Pilgrimage of Discovery and Creativity.” on the front…
The concept of finding your thinplace and experiencing thinplace has been a part of me for almost 20 years!
Later that week, sitting in the abbey, writing in my journal and praying, God reminded me that thinplace came way before freerangeworship and my current business focus.
The Spirit reminded me that I’d longed to take people on pilgrimage and help them experience the beauty and wonder of God outside their normal everyday life.
Jesus reminded me that I’ve wanted to take people on pilgrimage since our family took our first pilgrimage to Lindesfarne in 2003
Going on Pilgrmage
So I decided to JUMP.
For over twenty years, I’ve helped people engage and experience God using all their senses. I have helped people get outside their box and go outside literally in order to see the wonder of God in all creation, in art, in places and people.
I’ve spent twenty years designing and creating sacred space prayer room experiences and leading workshops on creative worship and retreats on silence and sabbath. All involving experiential learning and participation .
What I know is that we really don’t need more information about God . We need time to experience more of God .
I took a big leap of faith and decided that it’s time to rediscover thinplace and invite others to join me!
I’ve booked space on Iona in August 2023 and planned a retreat for February 2023 in California Wine Country at The Bishops Ranch in Healdsburg, CA a thinplace on it’s own, that happens to be near my other favorite spot called Goat Rock on the Pacific Coast.
The Bishops Ranch
Finding Your Thinplace Retreat in Wine Country February 7-10, 2023 Staying at The Bishop’s Ranch in Healdsburg, CA REGISTER TODAY
Finding Your Thinplace Scottish Pilgrimage August 28-Sept 4th, 2023 staying at the St. Columba Hotel on Iona August 30-Sept 4th.
What is a Finding your thinplace retreat?
After the past few years of craziness, I think we all have empty cups. Finding Your Thinplace Retreats and Pilgrimages will have space for you to get away and find rest. Space for you to refill your cup and rediscover the things you love.
A place to process some grief.
A place to reflect and recharge in a place of beauty.
I invite you to join me. Give yourself permission to reconnect with your soul. Give yourself permission to reconnect with yourself and your God.
“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” Matthew 11:28-30 THE MESSAGE
findingyourthinplace.com
Give yourself the gift of a Finding your Thinplace Retreat or Join us on Pilgrimage in 2023. Like the Celtic Saints of old, we will have 12 spots available for each trip. So book soon!
I am happy to chat with you about each of these experiences. Just email me Lilly Lewin at findingyourthinplace@gmail.com
by Rev. Brenda Griffin Warren; the icon of St. Hilda of Whitby written by Iconographer Bonnie Wiltz Fairbanks of Houston, Texas
A Cat, An Icon, and A Calling
Have you ever received an unexpected gift? If you have, you know the joy and sweetness this unexpected gift can bring. May I share with you three unexpected gifts I have received? Unexpected gifts of a cat, an icon, and a calling.
A Cat. Four years ago, I received a call from a Maine Coon cat breeder of whom I had earlier purchased one of her magnificent cats. She asked if I would like a full-blooded ginger Maine Coon who was four years old. His Mom had become severely allergic to him and could not keep him any longer. Of course I said yes and the unexpected gift of this huge cat with an equally loud, almost roaring purr arrived to our home along with his awesome “castle.” What a wonderful and unexpected gift this precious, very loving twenty-four pound cat has been to our home. I thank God every day and sometimes several times a day for this unexpected gift.
An Icon. Two years ago, another unexpected gift arrived. I opened my mailbox and discovered a manila package with bubble wrap from someone to whom I was only acquainted. As I opened the carefully wrapped package, I was taken by surprise to find the most magnificent icon of my patron saint, St. Hilda of Whitby. I was stunned beyond words and tears overflowed and my soul was both overwhelmed and overjoyed. I could hardly believe that someone paid enough attention on Facebook to notice my admiration of St. Hilda and then to use her exceptional gift of icon writing to make something so breathtaking and meaningful to me. An unexpected gift that is a treasure. I tell my family, if I end up moving to assisted living someday, I won’t be taking much, but the icon of St. Hilda of Whitby is going with me!
It was an unexpected gift when I met St. Hilda for the first time. I was in a mostly male, very theologically conservative seminary and was reading our assigned church history text when my life was turned upside down. The text stated that a woman named “St. Hilda of Whitby” was an Abbess and founder of a monastery in which both men and women lived. Monks and nuns living and serving in her Whitby Abbey in northeast England were under her spiritual and physical rule. After being shocked, stunned, and secretly delighted, this former librarian began researching everything I could find on this religious leader. What an unexpected gift of discovering that women could be religious leaders.
It seems that St. Hilda in some mystical way introduced me to other Celtic and Anglo-Saxon saints of her era of the 7th-8th centuries. I became obsessed with finding out more about these remarkable men and women religious leaders of whom I had never read or heard about. It has been an unexpected gift to research these saints and to develop a website (www.saintsbridge.org) of their life stories. What an unexpected gift to now have friends on the other side of the thin veil.
A Calling. The week that I graduated from a Southern Baptist seminary, I received a call from the Interim Pastor of a Christian Church(Disciples of Christ) in the city where I live. I had never even been in that church nor knew anything about their denomination. He said that my dear Episcopal priest friend, Rev. Dr. Carol Petty had recommended me to him as he needed to go on an extended visit back home. Would I come and serve as the Interim Senior Pastor of the church for the next several months? I accepted that very unexpected gift. I discovered how much I loved pastoring this sweet flock. Later the Interim Pastor returned and I became the Associate Pastor.
When the Interim Pastor’s contract was up and he returned to his home, the church called me to become their permanent Senior Pastor. Wow, what an unexpected gift for this former Southern Baptist woman to become a settled Pastor. It was a joy and an honor to serve this precious congregation for eleven years and then serve several churches as their Interim Pastor. The Spirit works in amazing and mysterious ways, knocking down locked doors, breaking down impenetrable walls, and often sending unexpected gifts.
Unexpected gifts are graces. Have you ever received an unexpected gift? How did it make you feel? Have you ever given an unexpected gift to a friend, co-worker, or maybe even an acquaintance? Unexpected gifts have the power to transform a life, heal a broken heart, or bring a much-needed blessing.
Join Christine Sine for a time of quiet reflection on December 3rd, 2022. Slow down the busyness of the season and nourish your soul with contemplative focus and reflection. All the details can be found here:
https://godspacelight.com/event/advent-quiet-day/
words and photos by June Friesen; all scripture passages from The Message translation
National Caregiver’s Day/Month. This is a month-long awareness and if and when one becomes a caregiver or needs a caregiver it is then one realizes just the magnitude of this commitment.
“Celebrated every November, National Family Caregivers Month (NFCM) is a time to recognize and honor family caregivers across the country. It offers an opportunity to raise awareness of caregiving issues, educate communities, and increase support for caregivers.
The national observance is led by Caregiver Action Network (CAN), a nonprofit that provides free education, peer support, and resources to family caregivers. CAN selected the 2022 theme, #CaregivingHappens, to acknowledge the reality that family caregiving is not always convenient or expected.” (Taken from Administration for Community Living Website)
The theme chosen for this year is so appropriate to this topic/theme – #CaregvingHappens. If you have not ever been one who has needed a caregiver or been called upon to provide caregiving it may be hard to understand all of the things involved in it.
Thirteen years ago I found myself in a difficult situation due to an unfortunate accident when I was hiking. I shattered my ankle and not only was I hiking but I was in another state visiting my son and his family. This was a real challenge for me as I had always been the caregiver for and of others and now I literally had to have others care for me because of the severity of the injury. Two little girls, my granddaughters, were able to come and visit in the hospital. For both of them crawling in bed with grandma was filled with caregiving love – and probably gave me courage as well as encouragement to do my best to recover from this injury. The first action it took was a total surrender of myself to God – allowing Him to be in charge. Then it took a spirit of surrender to the instructions of the physician which was rather stern and overwhelming as he stood by my bedside and said, “Mrs. Friesen, in my 25-plus years of orthopedic surgery I have never seen such a severe ankle break. You will not be able to use that leg for 2-3 months.” In my mind I thought he does not know me very well … but within 24 hours I learned how right his words were. I went from the hospital to the airport to home where a young adult lady friend met us at the airport with this greeting. “June, I have moved my things into the house and I will be staying with you and Mr. Friesen. I will help take care of you.” Humbling, maybe even a bit humiliating but I learned that it is not always easy to be on the receiving end of being cared for as things are not always done the way you like or want them – but nonetheless they get done and it is okay. I recovered faster and way better that any orthopedic doctor/therapist ever expected. Having good caregivers and people who cared plus a cooperative attitude on my part was key. I left behind two little ones as I returned home, my granddaughters, who would have no doubt spent much time keeping me occupied but not really able to help care for me. They knew how to keep me distracted in the beginning stages of learning my limitations. Now I am able to walk, run and hike without any real limitations at all. These steps on one of our favorite hiking trails are able to be mastered quite easily along with the ups and downs, rocks and loose dirt as we climb.
So why do I share this story?
One of the passages that I thought of when thinking about caregiving was John 19 when Jesus entrusted his mother into the care of his disciple John just before He died.
John 19:25 Standing close to Jesus’ cross were his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. 26 Jesus saw his mother and the disciple he loved standing there; so he said to his mother, “He is your son.” 27 Then he said to the disciple, “She is your mother.” From that time the disciple took her to live in his home.
For many of us we may not find ourselves in the place of being a caregiver or having need for a personal caregiver. However, for some it is something that is a regular part of their life for one reason or another. For Jesus here, he knew that after His death and resurrection His time on earth would be short. As an oldest son he took his responsibility seriously and provided someone to meet the needs of his mother for the rest of her time on the earth. Oftentimes, when we think of caregiving, we think of elderly people who may have some kind of disability. It may be physical, mental or just growing older and the body kind of wearing out. In our country people are living longer and dementia and Alzheimer’s along with physical issues require many people to be in need of some kind of care and some need 24/7 care. Oftentimes, families think that they can and will be able to do it but then find it to be overwhelming physically as well as emotionally. The struggle and stress of what to do with a loved one in need of care much of the time or all of the time can take a toll on the complete family. It can bring frustration in many ways, it can lead to disagreements and sometimes it sadly leads to fractured relationships that are not easily repaired. John took Mary into his home and provided and cared for her. Sometimes we may be called upon to do that for others on a part-time or a full-time basis.
Sometimes there are children born who have some kind of disability which means they will require some kind of extra care/treatment/supervision throughout much and maybe all of their lifetime. Sometimes families can manage themselves, sometimes the family can manage with some extra help whether in-home or respite caregivers, sometimes it is special day programs that help challenge the ‘special needs person’ in learning how to do some things for themselves. In my circle of friends I have two families with autistic children. When we have gatherings we all work together to help as much as possible so we can all have a good time, including the family with the special needs child. I believe that this is very helpful for those who are the regular caregivers as it allows them to also enjoy some time just to relax and fellowship. One more passage of Scripture from Paul. It would seem that Paul had some need to be cared for at some time even though we are not sure what that may have been.
Philippians 4:9 Put into practice what you learned and received from me, both from my words and from my actions. And the God who gives us peace will be with you. 10 In my life in union with the Lord it is a great joy to me that after so long a time you once more had the chance of showing that you care for me. I don’t mean that you had stopped caring for me—you just had no chance to show it. 11 And I am not saying this because I feel neglected, for I have learned to be satisfied with what I have.
Some historians believe that Paul had an issue with his sight but that was never really confirmed. Another need for care that I thought of when it comes to Paul is the care his wounds would have needed after his imprisonments. Paul was appreciative of the care and for the most part I believe that people who need caregivers or have caregivers are appreciative, sometimes they just do not have means to know how to communicate it to the caregiver.
So what are some ways we may show appreciation for caregivers? If you know someone who is a caregiver, maybe offer to give them a break for an hour or two or more. One could ask the caregivers themselves what can I do for you that would be the greatest help? Little handwritten notes of appreciation are always good. And when I think of caregivers don’t forget those who work in care homes, nursing homes, hospice centers, or in their own home caring for a family member. The world is large, the amount of people involved in caregiving in one way or another is far more than one ever thinks or realizes. But saying thankyou as you leave when visiting someone in a hospital or another facility is always welcomed. So let us be grateful not just today, not just this month but always for anyone who shows care for others. And might I also repeat – nearly everyone is a caregiver in some way for someone – many are not even aware of it. Jesus cared for others, He welcomed all and remember He cared to make sure His earthly mother would be cared for after He was gone.
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