Today's daily devotion

Caregivers Need Care, Too

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.—2 CORINTHIANS 1:3-4 [NIV]

Lord, help me! Some caregiver I was to my beloved husband, who was battling lung cancer. I couldn’t eat, couldn’t sleep, and dropped too much weight. When I took Bruce to the hospital, I was mistaken for the patient.

At my checkup, the doctor took my blood pressure and said, “How can you help your husband in the condition you’re in? These numbers are off the charts.”

Guilt washed over me. The last thing Bruce needed was to worry about me. If I was going to be able to help him, I had to somehow learn to take better care of myself. I established a new mantra: “Caregivers need care, too.”

I cleared my cabinets of junk food, trashed the ice cream from my freezer and quit ordering takeout. I stocked up on nutritious food and ate healthier. Also, I decided I needed breaks during the day, time to take restorative walks to refuel and refresh. The sunshine, fresh air and quiet moments with God did as much for me as the exercise.

Good self-care helped me to offer more comfort and be even more loving and supportive to Bruce. Blessed help for both the caregiver and the one being cared for!