My Giver Husband

Mondays have taken on a whole new flavor since I've started watching my granddaughter during the day. It actually feels like the beginning of a work week now around here.

Dean has graciously agreed to attend another day at his adult day program--going there three times a week, rather than just two. I know it's asking a lot of him; it's not his favorite way to spend the day. But I'm sure thankful he's doing it for me.

I've convinced him that my work is doubled (actually multiplied more than that) when he is around when I'm babysitting. He asks and expects me to help him with things as much as I'm helping little Mae. I've been trying to get him to wait on himself more, even though I recognize he really does need some assistance. (This Sunday morning when he fixed our pancakes, for instance, he asked me if the peanut butter or the applesauce went on first.)

But there's also the fact that I try not to leave him alone with the girls for very long. It usually ends up with someone, usually him, getting upset about something. (Just like when some siblings can't be left alone for long.)

So you can see why my babysitting work is greater with him around. Going to his program more days is really going to lighten my load. I'm thankful that he loves me enough to do what he'd prefer not to do.

This makes me wonder if I'm willing to do what I dislike for God. Do I love Him enough to leave my comfortable house and do whatever it takes to serve Him? Are my stubborn desires getting in the way of God completing His work on earth? Lord, teach me to be as humble and giving a person as my husband. Caregivers aren't the only givers in this household.

A Sacrifice Worth Remembering

This morning my stomach is growling. I am purposely skipping breakfast, because Dean has forgotten to ask for it and I think a bit of a morning fast will be good for him. He overate last night, some of the wrong foods too, by the way, so maybe his body isn't telling him he's hungry this morning. Either that or his short-term memory mind is working to his benefit. In any event, I haven't offered to fix him anything or asked what he'd like for breakfast, so it looks like we BOTH may be fasting.

And why do I have to fast with him, you wonder? Well, if he sees or hears me eating, his fast will be off. The sight and sound of food speaks louder than his body growls, totally overruling even his brain's desire for food. (Don't have to worry about smell--he lost that sense when he had the brain injury.)

It's a sacrifice for me to refrain from eating. I'm counting the minutes when I can sneak in the kitchen and get a bite to eat. I'm quite a breakfast person, so this IS rather hard. But I will do it for my man. He's worth it.

I'm so glad I was deemed worth it to God. So worth it that He gave the supreme sacrifice, His very life, for MY benefit. No sacrifice can compare with that. That is one thing I don't dare forget. And the sacrifices that come with caregiving remind me of it daily.

We All Sacrifice

At least two milestones touched me today. First, this is my 200th blog post. Working on a year's worth. At least that's my goal. And I'm enjoying them very much.

But there was another event that topped even that. Dean let our nephew trim his mustache today! Aside from just a couple of snips, I don't think it's seen a pair of scissors for over a year now. Needless to say, I'm ecstatic with his new civilized look.

He and I went to a church meeting tonight. The first in a long time. Just testing the waters...

Thanks, babe. I know you did it for me. That's what sacrifice is all about.

A Parent Feels the Pain

My daughter experienced the most heartbreaking task a mother must endure today. She had to watch her two little daughters undergo medical procedures that were pretty painful. One needed to get some shots and the other had some dental work done. How painful for a mother to be just inches from her children and yet powerless to keep them from hurting and crying out her name.

I think you know where I'm going with this. Picture Jesus on the cross, suffering tremendously, and crying out for His Father. Imagine how much pain the Father was going through as well. Any parent knows this anguish. How much love both Jesus AND the Father must have for us to willingly sacrifice everything for our salvation at Calvary.

But another thought is how close God was at that time. Just as my daughter was hovering over her little ones doing all she could to comfort them, God comes close to us when we are going through trials. Think of His loving, comforting presence the next time you have any kind of painful experience. He feels it with us, as any good parent would.

Leftover Gifts

I donated some clothing today. Some sweatshirts, scarves, caps, and gloves for winter. As worthy as that may have been, I feel no satisfaction, because there really was no sacrifice in the gift. If I were to add some food to my donation basket, I doubt if that would have been sacrificial either. I confess, I give leftovers.

Face it, most of us give leftovers--things that don't fit or that we've lost our fondness for or that we have too much of. The sad truth is our gifts benefit us as much as the recipients, because they leave us with more closet space, which we can quickly fill up again by another fun shopping trip.

Instead of thinking about that shopping trip or that clean-organized closet though, I'm going to try to think of the person who got the sweatshirts and other things today. It would be so worthwhile for some homeless person, who's struggling to stay warm to get these items. I'm hoping the people I gave them to would be servicing just that kind of client. The gift may have seemed insignificant to me, but somewhere someone may be thrilled to get something different to wear. If nothing else, I pray it lifts their spirits just a little.

Perhaps my real gift today was not the clothes, but the prayers.

Sacrifice

Tonight we say good-bye to our nephew for just a week, as he travels back to his old stomping grounds, Florida, for a holiday visit. Leaving this 20-degree Nebraska weather for sunny 80-degree Florida has to have its perks, but I'm sure at the same time it will be hard for him to see loved ones again for such a short time. Sometimes our lives demand sacrifices though that are hard to understand.

The biggest sacrifice of all, that of God's dear Son, is definitely one we have to ponder when we are faced with emotionally-driven events that don't always make complete sense to us at the time. Jesus not only made a sacrifice by dying for us, but the fact that He left Heaven to do it, is something we will never come close to simulating in our life situations here on earth.

Yes, what He left and what He did reveal sacrifices that don't make sense to us at all. Unless you remember the force that drove those sacrifices. It was love. Love demands sacrifices, and sacrifice demands love.  The sacrifice will follow, but it must begin with love.