Adapted from books by Shelly Beach: Ambushed By Grace: Help and Hope in the Caregiving Journey, and It Is Well with My Soul.
Do you feel like you have failed to be a good caregiver? Perhaps the person under your charge complains that you aren't meeting their needs sufficiently. Perhaps relatives and friends are critical about your "performance" as a caregiver. Perhaps they feel that you could do better in balancing your task of caregiving with competing priorities, such as being a parent, child, spouse, or employee.
If you feel you have failed, take heart: God does not view caregiving the way others do. He does not assess your service based on how well you meet the needs of those you care for, or how efficiently you carry out your role and responsibilities. Rather, He is interested in only one thing: how well we reflect Christ. The instruction in Colossians 3:17 to "do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus" applies to caregiving as much as it does to other forms of Christians service.
Caregiving is a glorious call to be conformed to the image of Christ. It offers us an opportunity to live out our commitment to care for others as Jesus did, to love those whom God has created, and to demonstrate the redemptive power of Christ. Through our actions, attitudes, and words, we will reflect how God ministers grace and mercy as we learn to be Jesus' channel of compassion, redemption, and love.
It will be hard, of course. To love as Christ loves, we will have to put aside our time, our job, our personal commitments, our friends, and even our own health. We will be asked to lay down our expectations of fairness at the altar before crawling onto it ourselves, submitting to God's desire to mould us into the character of His Son. And we will have to be willing - and prepared - to search our hearts and focus the light of God's Word on ourselves, our speech, our actions, and our motives.
So don't let the world - or even yourself - judge your quality of caregiving by the level of service you provide. Instead, focus your heart, your actions, your words, and your thoughts on being like Christ. That's all God sees.
Caring is a journey into Jesus' heart.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmlO9XB8Oggm5hfayNUurrjMPVvkvrA9OZFQNxtrjXDUrwBEIbo8FRCT1pOF4QTYNSsqfQLwjDOHH_8aQtZp9x_mhS3nZlcdif5WwfC7lEItSLmOCHn4r6ovliKF3gxO30C8eZ3Uzl9mc6yXK3_Uv7eLo8kmZtWuhjJKQ7OQ5EZA2pJtSzUt5gQPvO/s600/jesus-in-the-mirror-GoodSalt-dmtas0163_1.png
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And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. - Colossians 3:17
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Picture posted by Chromethemer - Broken Angel
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If you feel you have failed, take heart: God does not view caregiving the way others do. He does not assess your service based on how well you meet the needs of those you care for, or how efficiently you carry out your role and responsibilities. Rather, He is interested in only one thing: how well we reflect Christ. The instruction in Colossians 3:17 to "do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus" applies to caregiving as much as it does to other forms of Christians service.
Picture posted by Keith McGivern on 17 November 2021
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https://medium.com/@keithmcgivern/and-whatever-you-do-in-word-or-deed-do-all-in-the-name-of-the-lord-jesus-giving-thanks-to-god-the-c2bd75882ac2
Caregiving is a glorious call to be conformed to the image of Christ. It offers us an opportunity to live out our commitment to care for others as Jesus did, to love those whom God has created, and to demonstrate the redemptive power of Christ. Through our actions, attitudes, and words, we will reflect how God ministers grace and mercy as we learn to be Jesus' channel of compassion, redemption, and love.
Picture posted by The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints
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https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/comeuntochrist/believe/jesus
It will be hard, of course. To love as Christ loves, we will have to put aside our time, our job, our personal commitments, our friends, and even our own health. We will be asked to lay down our expectations of fairness at the altar before crawling onto it ourselves, submitting to God's desire to mould us into the character of His Son. And we will have to be willing - and prepared - to search our hearts and focus the light of God's Word on ourselves, our speech, our actions, and our motives.
Picture posted by Dreamstime
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So don't let the world - or even yourself - judge your quality of caregiving by the level of service you provide. Instead, focus your heart, your actions, your words, and your thoughts on being like Christ. That's all God sees.
Caring is a journey into Jesus' heart.
PHOTO: Caring is a journey into Jesus' heart.
Focus your heart, your actions, your words, and your thoughts on being like Christ. That's all God sees.
Picture posted by Infinity Fine Art - Saved by Grace
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https://veryfatoldman.blogspot.com/2019/03/reflection-jesus-and-jonah-sign-of-jesus.html
Through Lord Jesus Christ we pray. Amen!"
Picture posted by The Glory of God Students' Fellowship on Wednesday, 28 November 2018
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https://glogsfeoau.wordpress.com/2018/11/29/a-reflecting-christ-a-true-mirror-1/
Source (book): "He Walks with Me - Devotions for Your Caregiving Journey with God", PART I "JOURNEYING WITH GOD", Chapter 2 "Reflecting Christ", Page 12.
Adapted from books by Shelly Beach: Ambushed By Grace: Help and Hope in the Caregiving Journey, and It Is Well with My Soul.
Other Books (Links)
Reflection - Faithful to the end (Links)
https://veryfatoldman.blogspot.com/2017/06/reflection-faithful-to-end-links.html
"Finding rest for the soul" Responding to Jesus' Invitation in Matthew 11:28-29, © 2016 by Robert M. Solomon
Reflection - Finding rest for the soul (Links)
https://veryfatoldman.blogspot.com/2018/10/reflection-finding-rest-for-soul-links.html
"God in Pursuit" Lessons from the Book of Jonah, © 2016 by Robert M. Solomon
Reflection - God in Pursuit (Links) - PART I-III, posted on Saturday, 10 August 2019
https://veryfatoldman.blogspot.com/2019/08/reflection-god-in-pursuit-links-part-i.html
"God in Pursuit" Lessons from the Book of Jonah, © 2016 by Robert M. Solomon
Reflection - God in Pursuit (Links) - PART IV, posted on Saturday, 10 August 2019
https://veryfatoldman.blogspot.com/2019/08/reflection-god-in-pursuit-links-part-iv.html
"Songs of Christmas", The Stories and Significance of 20 Well-Loved Carols, © 2018 by Robert M. Solomon
Reflection - Songs of Christmas (Links), posted on Friday, 24 April 2020
https://veryfatoldman.blogspot.com/2020/04/reflection-songs-of-christmas-links.html
"Growing Old Gracefully", Following Jesus to the End, © 2019 by Robert M. Solomon
Reflection - Growing Old Gracefully, Part I - III (Links), posted on Wednesday, 09 December 2020
https://veryfatoldman.blogspot.com/2020/12/reflection-growing-old-gracefully-part.html
Reflection - Growing Old Gracefully, Part IV - V (Links), posted on Thursday, 22 April 2021
https://veryfatoldman.blogspot.com/2020/12/reflection-growing-old-gracefully-part_9.html
"Teach Us to Number Our Days", © 2008 by David Roper
Reflection - Number Our Days, Chapter 1 - 40 (Links), posted on Tuesday, 16 November 2021
https://veryfatoldman.blogspot.com/2021/11/reflection-number-our-days-chapter-1-40.html
Reflection - Number Our Days, Chapter 41 - 64 (Links), posted on Wednesday, 16 March 2022
https://veryfatoldman.blogspot.com/2022/03/reflection-number-our-days-chapter-41.html
Links
New International Version (NIV), Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Matthew 11:28-29 - https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+11%3A28-29&version=NIV
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- https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/comeuntochrist/pxy/cdn/b3/30/b3301c49efb63c95bd5c46372e8f8fa0e4e3403e/jesus_appears_to_mary.jpeg
- https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/comeuntochrist/believe/jesus
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