CAREGIVERS
Caregivers walk their unique path through illness and pain.
A caregiver’s role can be rewarding and exhausting, difficult and joy-filled, meaningful and frustrating, isolating and inspiring—discovering God’s joy as you care for your loved ones.
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Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me. (Matthew 25:40)
CAREGIVING IS A JOURNEY
Caregiving is a journey we didn’t choose, didn’t expect, and sometimes feel wholly unprepared to take. Some days, the negatives outweigh the positives. Just when we start to feel like we know what we need or how others can help, people stop calling or checking in with us. Those offers of help seem to evaporate in the afternoon sun.
Yet God sees what others don’t. He sees every sacrifice and every tear. He holds in His hands every lonely, overwhelming moment, offering us this invitation:
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. (Matthew 11:28-30)
NOTHING ESCAPES GOD’S NOTICE
Nothing escapes the notice of our Heavenly Father. He knows us, He sees us, and He hears the cries of our hearts. He is with us always through every overwhelming, exhausting, and difficult moment.
I will never leave you nor forsake you. (Hebrews 13:5)
The root of the word “care” is the same root found in the emotions of grief, lament, and sorrow and in the actions of crying out, calling, screaming, and complaining.
God knows how overwhelming caregiving can be, how it can throw the whole balance of our lives inside out and upside down. Yet He still calls us to be care givers. Why? Because those He has called us to care for are His beloved children too. It brings Him great glory when those of us with plenty supply what His children in want need so that, in turn, others can supply what we need. (2 Corinthians 8:14)
As caregivers, we focus on meeting the needs of others, often ignoring our own. It can be easy to get lost in caregiving, become invisible, and feel like everyone else gets to live a normal life except us.
DEALING WITH EMOTIONS AS CAREGIVERS
Sometimes we give and serve and strive to be a perfect caregiver. Somehow we believe we’re not supposed to experience frustration, anger, sadness, or other negative emotions. This quickly leads to caregiver burnout.
Anger is a complicated emotion, but it doesn’t mean we’re angry with the person we are caring for, and it doesn’t mean we love them any less. Often what masquerades as anger is actually fear, hurt, or sorrow.
Sorrow or grief is our body’s response to loss. Whether we are grieving our loved one’s loss of memory, health, or ability to care for themselves independently, we need space and time to process these emotions.
For some of us, caregiving draws us closer to God, but others haven’t felt God’s presence for some time. God brings good from our suffering always, for suffering teaches us, shapes us, and can open our eyes to the Presence of God in so many small moments throughout the day.
Being a caregiver is both a challenge and a privilege. God calls us to intentionally, generously, and sacrificially care give – to take His yoke upon us, for it is easy and it is light. (Matthew 11:29)
FREE PRINTABLES
Prayers for Caregivers
Lord, thank You for the ministry of caregiving. Help me be flexible, kind, and intentional (especially when I'm weary) as I act as Your hands and feet. Amen.
An Infusion of Hope for Caregivers
God knows how overwhelming caregiving can be, how it can throw the whole balance of our lives inside out and upside down. As caregivers, we need a steady infusion of hope from God's word to do the work He has called us to do.
Accessible Hope: Gathering and Holding Hope Day-by-Day
Hope is often portrayed as strong and steady, yet for many of us, it can feel fragile, distant, or simply out of reach. Accessible hope, however, arrives quietly in a flicker, a whisper, or a still, small voice. It doesn’t demand that we feel hopeful; it invites us to lean into the one who helps us gather hope—to hold it, carry it, and return for it each day—not all at once, not perfectly, but (like manna from heaven) just enough for today.
Two are Better: Caregiving Together
While I am living a journey with chronic pain that I never asked for, I realized my husband was also thrust into this journey, walking a road he never expected.
Self-Care for your Soul
Spend a little time getting to know God better: who He is, what He’s like, how He feels about us, and how He acts toward His creation. Sabbath rest helps us discover the peace only found when we trust in God's presence.
Kind Words for Caregivers - Note Starters
Caregivers need to be reminded that their sacrifice, endurance, and compassion are noticed, that they are seen, cared about, thought of, and prayed for, that living into this vulnerable calling matters.
POSTS TO PONDER
A Caregiver’s Shopping List
I was running on empty. My body was weary, and my mind and heart were dry. Sometimes, it felt like caring for the needs of my chronically ill wife took up all the time and space in my life. I needed new tools but wasn’t sure I could find the right place to shop for them.
Two Are Better – Caregiving Together
(We sometimes feel like we’re living in a situation comedy.) Flashes of joy and humor feed our hearts, lift our spirits, and help us through the days. Our greatest help, however, is our relationship with God.
Bean Seeds and a Season of Caregiving
Sometimes, I feel like one of those unhealthy beanstalks, especially right now in a season of intense caregiving. I must physically stop and allow God to refuel me.
Ambushed by Grace: Help and Hope on the Caregiving Journey
Shelly Beach
Caregiving is probably the hardest work you will ever do. Yet it can also change your heart and transform your life. Experienced caregiver Beach offers practical help and spiritual insights to those facing the challenges of caregiving.
Don't Sing Songs to a Heavy Heart: How to Relate to Those Who are Suffering
Kenneth C. Haugk, PhD
Haugk has written an essential guide on caring for and relating to people as they encounter difficult times in life. This book draws on extensive research of those who have experienced various kinds of suffering and offers key insights and suggestions of what to say and do (and what not to say or do) when people are hurting. With its biblical foundation, compassionate approach, and concrete ideas, this book will help you bring God’s loving presence to hurting people when they need it most.
Blessings & Prayers for Caregivers
Annetta Dellinger
Find encouragement for the realities of daily caregiving challenges. Through brief Gospel-focused readings and Scripture verses, this small book offers refreshment and renewal for the exhausted caregiver. Each reading focuses on Jesus as the source of our hope and strength. Blessings and Prayers for Caregivers can be tucked in a pocket or a purse to go with you wherever you go and to be at your fingertips whenever you have a minute or two and need a word of encouragement.
A Spirituality of Caregiving
Henri J.M. Nouwen
If you provide care for another person, whether you are a family member or a professional caregiver, you know that caregiving is hard, sometimes unappreciated work. However, have you ever considered that it isn’t easy to be the care receiver?
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