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Life ain’t easy, is it? And that’s especially true for caregivers and carees of all ages, stripes, and philosophies – including those of us in the Sandwich Generation. This photo makes me think of life. In it, you can see my senior mom’s butterfly bush – with lovely pink blooms, but also dead ones. You can see green grass, but mixed with some weeds. You can see some of this year’s sunflowers – the ones in the ground are NOT doing at all well this year. Happily, the ones in the pots (not in the picture) are doing splendiferous – making her and the grandkids very happy!
Life is full of death AND life, flowers AND thorns, good days AND bad days, joy and sorrow…just like this photo reflects. Praise God, He is more powerful than any of the negatives. And because of that, we can truly choose to say (and mean) with the psalmist,
I love the Lord because He hears my voice and my supplications
Because He has inclined His ear to me, therefore I shall call upon Him as long as I live.
Psalm 116:1-2
In the midst of the continual battle with the weeds and thorns and dead blossoms cluttering my life, I see God working in me and in my beloveds. I continue to call upon Him and He continues to lead and guide me directly and definitively. What a sweet joy in the midst of good days and bad!
How about you? What Scripture has spoken to your heart today – blessing you with a “hug from God?” We’d love to hear it as well!
P.S. I shot this photo while outside with the grandkids, having a grand time with waterplay – including a fun new idea you can read about at ???, as well as getting to join in the fun of the “Where Bloggers Create” blog party! Do pop over, won’t you? 🙂
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My husband just planted a butterfly bush for me this weekend. Hoping it makes it. I was reminded of my backyard flowerbed reading your post because it’s got as much grass as it does flowers. One day I plan to clean it up. But yes, I still find beauty in it through the blooms. Thanks for the analogy!
Such a lovely verse and the photo is very pretty. I admire you as a caregiver, it takes a special someone to jump in are for a loved one. I hope your weekend is beautiful. Have a wonderful week!
Remembering all the ways God has been with me over the years (I am glad that I have kept a journal periodically) helps me trust him with current problems. He does hear our prayers.
Have a blessed weekend!
Beautiful post. Being “sandwiched” myself, this was a great reminder this morning. Have a blessed Sunday!
Happy Pink Saturday to you. This is a beautiful and uplifting post. I am watching my mother-in-law in the sandwich generation, caring for her mother who is in her 90’s, being a strong support for my sister in law who is in her 30’s but is a pastor and moves around a lot as she looks for a permanent church home, and still trying to grandmother my children… it is a tricky time. Your words of grace and trust and peace are wonderful. We went to Saturday church yesterday and our pastor was talking about the “random acts of kindness” being an ongoing thing, that we cannot quite fulfill “love our neighbor as ourselves” because it doesn’t have a quota or an full button or a stop. But that we can only do our best and know that His grace covers the rest.
Peace and fullness of spirit be with you,
CailinMarie
Thank you so much for linking to Sunday Stillness. This is beautiful – we are mixed with death and life – and life beyond death -praise the Lord. Where is the where bloggers create site?
Blessings,
Janis http://www.janiscox.com
Really hope your good days out weigh the bad ones. I have a lot of friends who really seem to be struggling with life lately.
I had such a rough caregiver day yesterday. When I woke up, I began my morning random browsing and found this blog post. Thanks for the pick-me-up and inspiration. I desperately needed it!
Thanks CailinMarie, for these sweetly encouraging words 🙂