“I’ve heard that the key to aging well is to have a daughter living nearby.”, a colleague commented when he heard my parents were moving next door to me. I think the words were shared with the sentiment of how good it will, hopefully, be for my parents to be living next door as they age. And he was acknowledging the gift of care that we can offer each other as families.
I have to say though that the comment landed with a bit of weight on my shoulders. Will I actually be able to make a difference in my parents’ aging process? What if they don’t like living next door to me and my family? These questions and other insecurities bubbled up as I pondered my friend’s observation on aging.
Similarly, in my career as an educator I have heard teachers with years of experience comment on how important the mother is in the happiness and success of their children. “As long as they have a mother who is stable, they’ll be alright. It’s the children who don’t . . .”. I recently read a blog about mommy-guilt. The pressure to perform isn’t always easy to shed when we arrive home or as we take care of loved ones.
How do we find peace in our familial and caregiving roles, whatever they are?
In our upcoming series we will be using Psalm 139 to provide some touchstones as we look at life through the lens of caregiving. We hope these reflections will provide a firm landing place as we each walk through various caregiving situations.
We hope you will join us over the next ten weeks as we reflect on Psalm 139, with “Comfort” posts on Mondays and an invitation to practice “Joy” on Thursdays.
We hope this brings you some comfort and joy! You can spread the joy by liking, commenting and sharing this post with others. Be sure to subscribe and never miss a post.
Some Comfort and Joy was developed as a devotional resource that follows the rhythms and seasons of the liturgical year from an Anabaptist-Mennonite perspective.
some comfort and joy 