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Have you ever noticed that when you are dealing with the Sandwich Generation issues of caring for elderly parents and juggling all the various needs in your family, the path of life can seem to get more twisty and turny during difficult times?
When my sweet father was in the end stage of his Parkinsons Disease and he and all of our family was dealing with grief, hospice, and all the trials and tribulations that came with it, I sometimes felt like the path was so hard to see.
During one particularly difficult time in this whole period, the doctors had to try a couple of different medications for him and he went through such a hard time. I remember laying in bed at night, praying so hard, totally unsure of what to do and how to do it, and feeling like the walls were closing in on me. This photo above of a road covered with fog leading to a sandbar is also a good illustration of what I was feeling!
The one thing that kept me going, day after day, middle of the night after middle of the night, was knowing that God was there. Talk about a "light at the end of the tunnel!" For me, it was actually more like a flashlight that showed one footstep after another! I would get up in the wee hours to give my dad his medication, which he hated to take, then go back and pray more, and read God's Word. And ALWAYS, His comforting Bible verses would fill me with His peace that passes all understanding and give me the strength to keep on keeping on! The problems didn't go away instantly, but I wasn't walking by myself! And that was so crucial.
There were so many comforting and encouraging Scriptures God used in my life during that time period. One that I kept clinging to is one I've loved since I was a young Christian. It's still one of the first I turn to in times of grief, loss, trial, problems, or just plain "having a bad day!"
Proverbs 3: 5-6 is one the more famous promises of God in the Bible. It's also one of the most comforting of my favorite Bible verses as well as one I use for simple Scripture prayers when I don't have time for longer prayers:
Trust in the Lord with ALL your heart
And do NOT lean on your own understanding.
In ALL your ways acknowledge HIM,
And HE WILL make your paths straight.
Isn't that powerful! Isn't that encouraging! Isn't that awesome of God to tell us that. Isn't that hard to do! 🙂 Sometimes. But I encourage everyone to dig this one down into your heart and mind – make this one of your Bible memory verses for you and your grand children, if you haven't already memorized it. Read it, post it around the house,
buy a tapestry that has these encouraging verses on it, use Proverbs 3: 5-6 when you are praying the Scriptures for your children and grandchildren, talk about it to your grandchildren, say it out loud, listen to it in spoken word as well as one of the many praise and worship songs written using it.
Let God bury it deep within your heart. You will be blessed and so will your family. I hope and pray that someday, when I'm safely in heaven, and my family is talking about family memories, this verse will be intertwined in those memories! (Along with about a zillion others of my favorites 🙂 ). Talk about leaving an awesome spiritual legacy!
I wanted to pick a new-to-us song for this week and I can't tell you what a blessing it was to go to Amazon, type in Trust in the Lord mp3 and discover so many wonderful songs – for all ages and music tastes. Click here to listen to the samples. 🙂 Since I had to pick just one, I selected, Trust In The Lord
, from Overcoming Anxiety: Integrity Music's Scripture Memory Songs
. I had never heard of this series before, but what a blessing for all and especially those going through a similar season of grief and loss! And by the way, if you have another song for Proverbs 3: 5-6 that you love, do let us know about it in the comments. We'd love to hear about it. 🙂
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What a sweet rendition of such encouraging Bible verses from Proverbs 3: 5-6! As one of the never-aging Baby Boomers generation caring for elderly parents and helping with the grandchildren, I really appreciated its message for all of us and think it would make a great addition to your mp3 player. 🙂
For more encouraging Bible verses, devotional thoughts and praise and worship music, be sure to visit Spiritual Sunday, as well as enjoying the inspirational stories at I Owe It All To to Him. Also, don't forget…
Dear Kaye,
This is a beautiful, heartfelt post and for any one us who have had to care for elderly parents, this is no doubt a verse that is so essential…My father had Altzeimer’s before he passed away many years ago and it was an extremely difficult time…so I can totally relate in deepest terms what this is like and how you felt and how comforting this verse must have been….
When this verse says not to lean unto our own understanding, part of that I believe is for us to understand that we don’t know the future, so we shouldn’t give up in the midst of troubles because we are cradled in God’s hands. He has the way for us to work things out even though we may be unaware of solutions.
Have a blessed Sunday!
Hugs,
Cindy
Comforting Bible Verses for the Sandwich Generation: Proverbs 3:5-6 via SandwichINK.com – Have you ever … http://tinyurl.com/2dr862o
Comforting Bible Verses for the Sandwich Generation: Proverbs 3:5 …: One of the promises of God in the Bible is … http://bit.ly/c36GNc
Good morning Kay,
Thank you for the inspiration!!! I love how you have inspired me and reminded me personally to memorize (get the Scripture on the inside) so that I can have it, stay it, believe it in times of trouble.
You photos reminded me also, the future is really ‘like fog’…I just don’t know what lies ahead. I have to trust God, I have to not lean on my own understanding. One of the most comforting discoveries a friend brought to, is knowing that Our Lord is sorrowing with us in our saddness and grief. That’s how close He is. That’s how much we are loved by Our Heavenly Father.
Yes, I will write out Proverbs 3:5-6 and post it to memorize. Fantastic suggestion Kay! Thank you again!
Be blessed.
Hi Patty, What an excellent point that our Lord is right there with us in sadness and grief. And you are so right – He does know and feel with us, which is so very comforting and encouraging. Thank you! 🙂
Boy Cindy, You hit the nail on the head! I can’t tell you the number of times I thought a situation was hopeless, and all I could do was just keep surrendering everything to my precious Savior. And He always had the solution – I just had to be patient and wait and be awed at His power! Thank you so much for your encouraging words!
very encouraging and it’s great to know….He never leaves us or forsakes us.
Hi Sarah, so true! Thanks for stopping by 🙂
How I wish I’d discovered your site, your wisdom a few years ago when I was struggling with my own mother’s end-of-life issues! Your blog is so inviting … I’ll be sure and return!
Blessings,
Myra
I love this passage. I do not always find it easy to NOT lean on my own understanding! I constantly have to remind myself of this!
I enjoyed your post today, and the analogy of the flashlight guiding our way, hit home. Sometimes thats exactly how we feel.
Worship Music: Comforting Bible Verses for the Sandwich Generation: Proverbs 3:5 … http://bit.ly/aZtikx
Hi Margaret, Thank you 🙂
Hi NannyKim, I’m right there with you! 🙂
Thank you, Myra, I’m looking forward to that 🙂
That Proverbs scripture is one of my very favorites!
Carrie
Kaye:
I find much comfort in these verses, especially when travelling a difficult road. We may not always understand why God allows us to go through trying times, but He will always be there to guide us through.
Blessings,
Joan
Kay, I have this song on my Integrity CD you mentioned. You can imagine the joy of hearing it to photos! Your website is very important and your heart is full of encouragement. Thank you for your ministry. Wish I would have known you in the late 80’s when we cared for my father-in-law dying from colon cancer.
Hugs,
Mary
Great post. Thank you for sharing your heart with us.
Blessings,
Charlotte
A great WFW, Kaye ~ I love to set scripture to music. That was a good one. Thanks for this Word. Blessings ~
Hi Carrie, It is awesome, isn’t it! 🙂
Amen, Joan. AMEN! 🙂
Hi Mary, Thank you! 🙂 How cool that you have that cd! Would you believe, in the late 80s I was still raising kids, my dad had JUST got diagnosed and was in the early stages of Parkinsons Disease, and the internet, as we know it, didn’t exist! Not to mention email! In fact, we were just barely starting on computers. WOW! Can you believe how much has changed since then!!!! 🙂 Have a blessed week!
Hi Charlotte, Thank you 😉
Hi Cathy, You and me both! Oh my – you should have gone to church with me today – it was beyond awesome in Scripture set to praise and worship music!!! Such a blessing and gift from God! 🙂 Have a blessed week!
Thanks so much for sharing this story and message. It means alot to me at this time.
~Sherry F.
Hi Sherry, I’m so blessed to hear that! Thank you.
Such a great post! So encouraging on many levels! I love those flashlights at the end of dark tunnels.:)
Hi Lisa, Thank you 🙂 🙂 🙂