Caregiving: Free Download

A Privilege, Not a Prison

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Quick Reference Guide on Caregiving

Most people in need of caregiving are part of an existing family that should be responsive. Different family members will meet needs in different ways. God’s plan for caregivers is summed up in the word repayment – God is giving you the opportunity to repay your family for the care you once received. This care is given through meeting the practical/physical needs or by providing protection for a friend or loved one.

“If a widow has children or grandchildren, these should learn first of all to put their religion into practice by caring for their own family and so repaying their parents and grandparents, for this is pleasing to God.”  (1 Timothy 5:4)

Full-time or even part-time caregiving can be very demanding. Don’t be surprised when negative feelings surface. These feelings are a natural result of emotional and physical fatigue. Many caregivers feel there is no escape from their prison of constant responsibility. Yet, this is often the environment God uses to turn our hearts toward Him.

“For you, O God, tested us; you refined us like silver. You brought us into prison and laid burdens on our backs.” (Psalm 66:10-11)

God is just as concerned about you, the caregiver, as He is about the one placed in your care. If you have a sincere desire to help others, the tendency is to assume too much responsibility and to overdo! Thus, you, as God’s chief instrument of care, can become disappointed, depressed and defeated. To help with this, see the section “Not a Prison, but a Privlege” from the download below.

From God’s Word

“And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.”  (Luke 10:27)

More verses: 1 Peter 5:6-7, Matthew 11:28, Colossians 3:17