Search Results for “caregiving”

The Beautiful Burden of Caregiving

By Christina Fox|2024-01-21T14:50:48+00:00February 1, 2024|Blog, Caregiving|

KATIE POLSKI | CONTRIBUTOR While in my early thirties, my mom was diagnosed with a debilitating brain disease. I was told by the doctor that she would lose every ability “from her head to her toes.” Within months of the diagnosis, mom lost the ability to form words. Shouts, groans, and tears became her agonizing way of communicating. Not long after, she lost the use of her legs and hands. My father passed away years before mom’s diagnosis, and since I was the only sibling who lived in the same town, I quit my job and assumed the role as primary caretaker. She lived for two years after the diagnosis, so between caring for my young children and keeping up with life’s ongoing demands, caring for mom often felt burdensome. As I’ve watched friends face the inevitable challenges that accompany aging or ill parents, it’s become clear that my sentiment was not unique. But what I discovered amid the challenging journey, by the grace of God, is that the burdensome call of caregiving is also one that is profoundly and incomparably beautiful. The Burdensome Exhortation Scripture makes abundantly clear that we are to honor our parents (Deut. 5:16; Ex. 20:12; Eph. 6:2). Though short, these verses are layered with meaning, and it is easy to apply them in the way we see fit. It’s important, however, to take care to not interpret these words from God based on our own feelings or agendas. The Pharisees did this, and Jesus rebuked them (Matt. 15:3-6). For us to obey this command, trust in God’s perfect Word is required. There are times when honoring parents is confusing, challenging, and difficult. And while honoring may look different from one situation to the next, there are no caveats given with these verses, though we sometimes wish there were. One of the many ways we honor our parents is by caring for them in their time of need, and not because of what they have or have not done for us, but because sacrificial love has been demonstrated for us in the gospel...

Comments Off

Caregiving with Compassion and Respect: Learning from Jesus

By Christina Fox|2023-08-15T13:35:11+00:00May 4, 2023|Blog, Caregiving|

ELIZABETH TURNAGE|CONTRIBUTOR When my dad’s cancer spread to his bones, and he became at risk for falls, my brother and I acted quickly. Out of concern for his safety, we helped him move from the home where he had lived alone for the past twenty years into a comfortable assisted living facility. My dad often half-jokingly referred to the assisted living facility as “Shawshank,” after the prison in the movie “The Shawshank Redemption.” To an introvert who had lived alone since his divorce forty-five years before, being suddenly surrounded by so many people probably did feel like imprisonment. Caring with Compassion and Respect Our story with my dad reveals a common caregiver struggle. As caregivers, we seek the safety of our loved one, and in so doing, we sometimes ignore or minimize their desires. In our commitment to safety, we can also make the mistake of treating adults as if they were children, unable to make wise decisions for themselves. Even when dementia or disease prevents our loved ones from thinking clearly, we still must care for them with compassion and respect. To learn how to navigate this challenging terrain, we must remain centered in Christ’s compassion. Learning from Christ’s Compassion As he cared for people, Christ showed compassion by looking at and for people, by asking good questions and listening to the answers, and by gently pointing people to the hope they had in him...

Comments Off

Whining vs. Biblical Complaint in Caregiving

By Christina Fox|2023-08-15T13:44:52+00:00March 2, 2023|Blog, Caregiving|

MARISSA BONDURANT|GUEST When my kids wake up in the morning and complain about getting dressed for school, and the breakfast options I’ve offered, and the color of their lunch box, and the way their sister looked at them… I tell them to “stop whining.” When my own heart is dissatisfied with how my pants fit or my husband’s work schedule, or the fact that I wasn’t invited to something… I tell myself to “stop having a pity party.” But when our hearts are broken, sad, overwhelmed, and discouraged at the suffering of our loved one and the life changes required to care for them, should we still say “stop whining” to our tender hearts? Or is there another way to think about the brokenness we are experiencing? I believe there is a real difference between whining and biblically complaining. Whining is what we do when our preferences aren’t being met. Biblical complaint is when we acknowledge the disconnect between the pain of our lived-in reality, and what we know is true of God’s character and his plan for redeeming our world...

Comments Off

Caregiving as a Calling and Ministry

By Christina Fox|2023-03-24T17:44:33+00:00January 16, 2023|Blog, Caregiving|

MARISSA BONDURANT|GUEST If Jesus visited your church this week, which ministry team would he sign up for? This is a hypothetical scenario, but I think Jesus would sign up for the ministry of caregiving. When you hear the word “caregiver” you might think of a trained professional like a home health worker or a nurse. However, the dictionary definition is much broader. A caregiver is described as anyone who regularly looks after or cares for a child, an elderly, or a disabled person. National surveys estimate that 40% of adults in the United States are caring for an adult and/or a child with unique health needs1,2. For this article, I skimmed the book of Mark and counted thirteen stories of Jesus healing individuals, and three separate accounts of Jesus healing entire crowds. If we know God has a heart for caregiving, and we know that 40% of our church members are caregivers, the question to ask is: are we treating caregiving as a ministry? As caregivers, do we see ourselves as having been called into this role? And as churches, are we training, equipping, and supporting one another in this mission field? In this caregiving series, Elizabeth Turnage and I want to help start some of these conversations. We will do that by shining a light on some of the lesser discussed aspects of caregiving. Things like anticipatory grief, giving dignity to a sick or dying loved one, and the difference between whining and biblically complaining...

Comments Off

Aging Graciously in an Anti-Aging Culture

By Christina Fox|2024-09-12T18:02:50+00:00September 12, 2024|Aging, Blog, MP Blog|

ELIZABETH TURNAGE | CONTRIBUTOR Gray hair is a crown of glory; it is gained in a righteous life. (Prov. 16:31) Geriatrician Louise Aronson believes there is a “disconnect between the reality of old age and our beliefs about it.”[i] She describes society’s negative view of old age: “to look at old age and see only bodily decline, forgetting that inside the body is a fellow human being.”[ii] Aronson invites us to foster a worldview toward older adults that says: “We still see you, and we still like, love, respect, admire, and are inspired by you, both for who you were and who you are….”[iii] When older adults believe that they are seen, known, and loved, they live fully and graciously as they age. Aronson is not a Christian, and yet, her words challenge Christians to consider what it means to age graciously in an anti-aging culture. To do so, we must consider a biblical view of aging and God’s call to both the young and the old to live all of our days with the hope of glory. A Biblical View of Aging: Normalcy, Losses, and Benefits of Aging In the Bible, aging is assumed: “Aging and dying were considered to be natural, expected, even providential processes that were ordained and guided by God rather than discrete chronological stages of human development.”[iv] Genesis 15:15 states that Abraham would be “buried in a good old age.” Psalm 90:10 proclaims that our lives are fleeting: “The years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty . . . they are soon gone, and we fly away.” For this reason, we should “number our days” (v. 12), making the most of each one. While the Bible assumes that aging is natural, it doesn’t glamorize it. Ecclesiastes 12 portrays the losses of aging graphically, even dismally. Using poetic language and imagery, the author details many casualties of aging, including weak hands trembling, teeth falling out, eyesight dimming, fears worsening, and mourning and grief increasing (vv. 3, 5). Despite this suffering and loss, aging does have benefits, according to Scripture. For example, it can lead us to anticipate our heavenly dwelling more eagerly: “We know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens” (2 Cor. 5:1). In the Bible, aging also brings honor—it is an honor to be aged, and the aged are to be honored. The fifth commandment promises that honoring your father and mother leads to a lengthy life (see Ex. 20:12). Members of the church are exhorted to encourage older men and women and to honor widows (see 1 Tim. 5:1–3). Jesus rebukes the Pharisees for failing to care well for their parents (see Mark 7:9–13). According to the Bible, ageism is unacceptable. In a world that urges us to resist aging, we must recapture the biblical view of the subject. As we do so, we will learn how to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom...

Comments Off

Walking Each Other Home Questions

By CDM Media|2024-08-22T21:57:35+00:00August 10, 2024|Uncategorized|

Walking Each Other Home September/October 2021 Series Walking Together Questions: We are just walking each other Home so I encourage you and a friend to listen to this podcast together. Then set a time during the week [...]

0

How Do We Pray When Prayer is Hard

By Christina Fox|2024-06-23T18:49:09+00:00July 8, 2024|Blog, Prayer|

ELIZABETH TURNAGE | CONTRIBUTOR “Father, please send your angels to protect my mom.” I spoke this prayer on night ten of my mom’s fierce battle with Covid. Five hours later, she was dead. Have you ever received a resounding “no” to heartfelt prayers? Have you prayed prayers for days, months, and years and seen no evidence of change at all? Prayers for the return of a wayward child, prayers for freedom from deeply rooted sin patterns, prayers for relief from chronic pain? Perhaps with David, you have cried day and night but heard no answer and found no rest (See Psalm 22:2). In such seasons, bitterness or cynicism threatens to mute our tongues. How do we pray when prayer is hard? Three Crucial Practices Three crucial practices help us to pray when prayer is hard: learning the language of lament, which deepens faith; leaning into community, which grows hope; and listening for God’s declaration of his unfailing love, which expands love for God and for others. Learning the Language of Lament When prayer is hard, learning the language of lament can help us to emerge with a stronger faith. As Pastor Mark Vroegop explains, “Lament is a prayer in pain that leads to trust.”[i] Lament not only expresses our faith in the goodness of God, it also strengthens our faith in its expression. Prayers of lament often process through four categories: turning to God, naming the grief, asking persistently and boldly for help, and expressing restored confidence. Lamentations, Jeremiah’s lament over the fall of Jerusalem, illustrates each of these categories. Rather than turning away from God when relief from suffering doesn’t come, lamenters turn toward God. Jeremiah addresses his complaints to God in raw words few of us would dare to utter aloud: “You have wrapped yourself with a cloud so that no prayer can pass through” (Lam. 3:44 ESV). Lamenters name their grief, refusing to minimize their suffering: “I am the one who has seen the affliction under the rod of his wrath; he has driven me and brought me into darkness without any light” (Lam. 3:1). Arguing that their current experience doesn’t seem to match their understanding of God’s goodness and mercy, lamenters ask persistently and boldly for help. Jeremiah keeps crying for help, “Remember, O Lord, what has befallen us; look, and see our disgrace!” (Lam. 5:1). In doing so, he expresses his firm conviction that “no one is abandoned by the Lord forever” (Lam. 3:31). Not always, but often, lamenters turn from complaint, expressing restored confidence that the Lord will redeem and restore again. Jeremiah’s turn comes in the familiar assurance: “But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness” (Lam. 3:21-22). As Vroegop asserts, lament “stands in the gap between pain and promise.”[ii] Learning to lament helps when prayer is hard...

Comments Off

WM Leadership Training 2025

By CDM Media|2024-10-07T17:33:29+00:00April 15, 2024|Events, MP Events, Training|

Women's Ministry Leadership Training February 20-22, 2025 Our annual Women’s Ministry Leadership Training is designed for women who encourage and equip other women in the Church. It is our aim to come alongside local and presbytery [...]

Comments Off

The Body of Christ Makes All the Difference

By Christina Fox|2024-03-19T13:29:44+00:00April 4, 2024|Blog, Discipleship|

SHARON ROCKWELL | CONTRIBUTOR My friend was not handling life very well. Emotions overwhelmed her as she felt the disappointment and pain of an adult child who was making bad choices, grief for a parent in hospice, and the sting of anger when relatives inappropriately demanded a share of the inheritance. She was already battling cancer, exhausted from chemotherapy and frustrated that she could not deal with all that was on her plate. Darkness invaded her world more than was visible to the eye. She had Christian friends at church who were praying for her. She had good-intentioned family members always ready with words of advice. And she had plenty of books and podcast lectures on dealing with her specific issues. But it was a wise, older Christian woman who encouraged her and imparted truth without judgement that changed everything. This woman met with my friend twice a week for months. She told me the main premise of their discussions was that the only thing you can control is yourself. My friend kept a diary of their Bible searches for God’s truth about her life versus her own self-deception. Here are a few of the key take-aways that she recounted put her back on a healthy path. She learned to guard her heart. Proverbs 4:23 says “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. Guarding your heart means choosing godly thoughts (Col. 3:2; Phil. 4:8) as well as seeking wisdom and guidance from God. My friend had spent months in anger, self-pity, and dwelling on how life is unfair. She had raised her children with Christian values, only to watch a prodigal flaunt an ungodly lifestyle in her face. Why? She had always taken care of her body—good food and exercise—only to face a cancer diagnosis. Why? Betrayal had fractured her family over money issues. Why? It was a while before my friend would admit that her heart was bitter. Only she could control her thoughts, choosing godly thoughts over the evil that plagued her to the point of giving up on life. But once this realization became clear, it was a turning point...

Comments Off

The Resurrection of Christ: The Hope of Glory and Hope for the Body

By Christina Fox|2024-04-01T20:51:42+00:00March 28, 2024|Blog, Resurrection|

ELIZABETH TURNAGE | CONTRIBUTOR A 2017 study revealed that 25 percent of British people who identify as Christians do not believe in the resurrection of Jesus.[i] And yet, as pastor and theologian Stephen Um explains, even atheist scholars find weighty evidence for the resurrection. Um quotes atheist philosopher Anthony Flew: “The evidence for the resurrection is better than for claimed miracles in any other religion.”[ii] The resurrection is central to the gospel: if the resurrection didn’t happen, Paul tells the doubting Corinthians, our hope in Christ is pitiable (1 Cor. 15:19). On the first Good Friday long ago, Jesus spent his last breath. To confirm his death, a Roman soldier pierced his side with a spear. Joseph of Arimathea, with the permission of Pilate, took Christ’s body from the cross, wrapped it in a linen shroud, and buried it in his tomb (Mark 15:42–46). Christ’s followers were downcast and depressed the next day—the One they had thought would save them had died. How could it be? The disciples had never fully understood what Christ meant when he said, “The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him, and he will be raised on the third day” (Matt. 17:22–23). And then he appeared in a new body, a resurrected body. Many saw him: the women who went to the tomb to finish preparing the body for burial (Mark 16:1). Mary Magdalene, who mistook Jesus for the gardener (John 20:15). Thomas, who at Jesus’s command, touched Jesus’s nail-scarred hands (John 20:24–27). the disciples, who trembled together in a locked room when Jesus suddenly stood among them, greeting them, “Peace be with you” (John 20:19)...

Comments Off

Need a new search?