The Importance of Being There
I have much to write to you, but I do not want to use paper and ink. Instead, I hope to visit you and talk with you face to face, so that our joy may be complete.—2 John 1:12 (NIV)
Though you have made me see troubles, many and bitter, you will restore my life again; from the depths of the earth you will again bring me up. You will increase my honor and comfort me once again.—PSALM 71:20–21 NIV
The telephone rings. No, it sounds more like a fire alarm or siren…or maybe some predatory creature. Will you answer? Of course. Caregivers always answer the summons, again and again and again.
When will it ever end? The pressure can seem unbearable. “God will either make the burden lighter or the back stronger,” Charles Spurgeon once wrote. For caregivers, the burden rarely becomes lighter. The weight typically increases. We’re responsible for children or grandchildren, or when a parent becomes sick and dependent. Like the psalmist, we cry, “Rescue me and deliver me in your righteousness; turn your ear to me and save me” (Psalm 71:2).
Yes, it sometimes seems that caregiving just goes on and on. We can react in one of two ways: We can grumble and crumble, or we can ask for—and receive—a stamina we never thought possible. As we turn to our only source of power, we can say with the psalm writer, “Though you have made me see troubles, many and bitter, you will restore my life again….You will increase my honor and comfort me once again.”
Lord, You are my rock and deliverer. Thank You in advance for increasing my strength.
I have much to write to you, but I do not want to use paper and ink. Instead, I hope to visit you and talk with you face to face, so that our joy may be complete.—2 John 1:12 (NIV)
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)
The one who gets wisdom loves life; the one who cherishes understanding will soon prosper.—Proverbs 19:8 (NIV)