Prayer request for those so inclined…. today’s request is for those in need and their caregivers.
God. Oh God.
There is a coldness in the air that is seeping into our bones and being. A loneliness growing like rings in a tree in our extended time in separation. An exhaustion that holds us down, dampens our response, and dims our perspective. A loss we cannot fully understand or express — and dare yet try to process.
We are stagnant, stricken, sick, sad, succumbed, and stressed.
– We are fearful to start day 1 of chemo
– We are in pain from chronic neurological damage
– We are healing from knee surgery
– We are anxious to keep COIVD away to travel to MD Anderson for stage IV cancer care
– We are waiting for our loved one to die in final states of Parkinson
– We are wresting mental health and the dark shadows that linger
– We are lost, seeking solutions to a new heart illness diagnosis
– We are confused when our dementia-riddled brain won’t work
– We are pissed our kids must see this, live this, have this
– We are afraid of action, postponing a doctor’s appointment for fear of the diagnosis
– We are battling Long COVID and its multitude of disabling illnesses
We, as patients, are in need of healing.
– We are there for them, always – and the care feels more like work
– We are there for them, always – and the anticipation of all we must do for them leaves little time for anything else
– We are there for them, always – and there is slow, no, little change
– We are there for them, always – and I miss the old version of them
– We are there for them, always – and I put my own health second which is risk
– We are there for them, always – and I want a break I cannot take
– We are there for them, always – and I mourn with them of all that is lost
We, as caregivers, are in need of healing.
Yet there you are in the cracks. Another sunrise. A warm casserole. A funny text. A thoughtful card. A song. An errand run. A smile. A solution. A connection.
Yet we want more.
Help us see the small things. Help us do the caring things. Help us face the big things. Help us help others.
Together, our warmth, can counter the cold.
Amen.
