I have always considered myself a nurturing person, so the responsibilities that came with the titles wife and mother seemed natural to me. Over the course of my marriage and motherhood, I have cared about, cared for, carried, and been careful with three wonderful human beings with all the caritas that God has afforded me. I would do anything for any one of them. And yet, when I sat down in front of the registrar’s desk, as my husband was admitted into the medical system, I was taken aback with the gravity of my newest title, “Caregiver”. I was handed a spiral bound manual with a catalog of all my responsibilities. Then the registrar ask me if I was cable of administering care to the patient according to these guidelines. “Yes, of course,” I said. And she typed my name, address and profile information into the computer. The “Caregiver” is a required component of my husband’s medical care, and he cannot receive treatment without one. I admit, it did cause me to pause a bit and wonder what was ahead for me,
According to the manual guidelines, my responsibilities would include a range of tasks including physical, mental, emotional and spiritual support. At the back of the manual was a list of resources for my own physical, mental and spiritual health. I was beginning to wish I had not read the manual at all. As one friend said to me, “Basically, you are going to be Milton’s lifeline to the outside world”. By this point, the weight of the world fell heavy upon my shoulders.
In God’s perfect timing, I came across 1 Peter 5:7, “cast all your anxieties on [the Lord], because he cares for you.” It is an invitation to transfer the weight of our cares to stronger shoulders. The Greek word marimnan means care, as in worry or anxiety. Yep… I had a little of that. But Peter tells us there is a place for our natural concerns and cares, especially the well-being of our loved ones. (Are those cares not the weightiest of all?) He says to cast them on the Lord who cares for us. This second word, meló or melei, means care as personal concern or attentive interest. So the arrangement in 1 Peter 5:7 is, we can shed our anxieties and worries about a situation because we are being cared for by another. Wasn’t this essentially the arrangement my husband and I were making? For a period of time, he will place his temporal concerns into my hands, because I take a personal concern in him, because I love him. God’s word was encouraging me to do the same. I, the caregiver, am to give my cares to the Lord.
In return, God is also a Caregiver, but of the other variety. He provides care in the sense of loving, attentive provision for all our needs. When our burden becomes too heavy, Jesus says he will give us rest (Matthew 11:28). When our fears take hold of us, He settles our hearts and minds with his peace (Philippians 4:6-7). When we are all too aware of our weakness, Jesus says his power kicks into high gear (2 Corinthians 12:9). Whatever our need – spiritual, emotional or material – God will provide for it according to his abundant generosity (Philippians 4:19). In short, as the Psalmist says, “Cast your cares upon the Lord and He will sustain you” (Psalm 55:22). It is an exchange we make, an irresistible one, for who would turn it down? Give your cares, worries, concerns, fears and weakness to the Lord and He will care for you like a lamb in his fold (Psalm 95:7). The Scriptures attests to God’s attentive concern for us.
This promise to come under the loving care of God is for everyone. We all naturally carry concerns and worries because we care for people. We are parents, siblings, friends and children. We are in relationships that are important to us. God, in his graciousness, desires that love and compassion should be the cornerstone of our relationships, not fear or worry. How much better we can care for those we love when not encumbered by anxious feelings. The attentive provision he provides to us becomes the gift we give to our loved ones. It is how we will care for them. So, whomever you carry on your heart today, trust that their well-being is firmly in the Lord’s hands, receive from God’s hand his provision, and give it away. After all, we are Care Givers, are we not? No manual necessary.