SPCK - Dorothy M Stewart
Still Caring - Dealing with the hassles
Still Caring - Dealing with the hassles
by SPCK - Dorothy M Stewart
21 Dealing with the hassles For thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. (Psalm 23.4b, av) Being on the outside is difficult, especially when your informant may not be 100 per cent reliable. This is something I trip over, and come home feeling, ‘I really did not d…
Still Caring - Trouble at mill
Still Caring - Trouble at mill
by SPCK - Dorothy M Stewart
20 Trouble at mill Blessed are those who have regard for the weak. (Psalm 41.1a) There was a new resident on my husband’s corridor. She became upset when she was left on her own and cried out. This was distressing to the other residents and my husband told me about it. Several ti…
Still Caring - All about clothes
Still Caring - All about clothes
by SPCK - Dorothy M Stewart
19 All about clothes And why do you worry about clothes? ...............................(Matthew 6.28) At first, delegating your loved one’s laundry is a great blessing and a genuine weight off your shoulders. It comes at a price, of course: the necessity of labelling clothes...
Still Caring - How much is enough?
Still Caring - How much is enough?
by SPCK - Dorothy M Stewart
18 How much is enough? I hope to visit you and talk with you face to face, so that our joy may be complete......................................................................... (2 John 1.12b) In the very early days, when your loved one is settling in to life in residential car…
Still Caring - Talk to me!
Still Caring - Talk to me!
by SPCK - Dorothy M Stewart
17 Talk to me! The tongue is a small part of the body . . . but no human being can tame the tongue. (James 3.5a, 8a) When it was just the two of you, you did everything. Now, that caring is being done by other people, and there is a temptation to think that they won’t do it as we…
Still Caring - Down with guilt!
Still Caring - Down with guilt!
by SPCK - Dorothy M Stewart
16 Down with guilt Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. (Romans 8.1) When the person you’ve been caring for goes into a residential facility, people often say things like, ‘You can get on with your life now.’ They think that you’ve acquired a…
Still Caring - Time to let go
Still Caring - Time to let go
by SPCK - Dorothy M Stewart
14 Time to let go There is a time . . . a time to embrace and a time to refrain. (Ecclesiastes 3.1, 5b) It was probably guilt that had me running backwards and forwards from our house to the residential home. If he’d lost something, needed anything, I’d drop everything and rush d…
Still Caring - Finding your peace
Still Caring - Finding your peace
by SPCK - Dorothy M Stewart
15 Finding your peace If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. (Romans 12.18) Not all residents of care homes are loved ones. Old age, dementia and dependency do not suddenly transform people into loving dads mothers or husbands/wives. And inst…
Still Caring - Changing roles
Still Caring - Changing roles
by SPCK - Dorothy M Stewart
13 Changing roles From [Christ] the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. (Ephesians 4.16) ‘You’ve got your life back.’ So my well-meaning friends said when they heard that my husband was…
Still Caring - I give up
Still Caring - I give up
by SPCK - Dorothy M Stewart
12 I give up But a Samaritan . . . took pity on him. He . . . bandaged his wounds. . . . Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I …
Still Caring - When disaster strikes
Still Caring - When disaster strikes
by SPCK - Dorothy M Stewart
11 When disaster strikes Whatever disaster or disease may come, and when a prayer or plea is made by anyone among your people . . . then hear from heaven, your dwelling-place. (2 Chronicles 6.28 –30a) Maybe you were aware that time was running out. Everything had been going well,…
Still Caring - Time to blow the whistle
Still Caring - Time to blow the whistle
by SPCK - Dorothy M Stewart
10 Time to blow the whistle Defend the weak and the fatherless; uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed. Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked. .....................................................................(Psalm 82.3 – 4) How long …
Still Caring - Arm's length
Still Caring - Arm's length
by SPCK - Dorothy M Stewart
9 Arm’s length For what do they care about the families they leave behind? .........(Job 21.21) My friend used to drive two hours each way to check on her widowed father, almost blind, pretty shaky but determined to continue living in his own home. The cost to her was not simply …
Still Caring - Is it time?
Still Caring - Is it time?
by SPCK - Dorothy M Stewart
1 Is it time? There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens. (Ecclesiastes 3.1) We struggle with this. We’ve been struggling with all of this caring business for a long time and this, one more decision, looms over us as the almost impossible on…
Still Caring - Baby Steps
Still Caring - Baby Steps
by SPCK - Dorothy M Stewart
8 Baby steps Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest. (Mark 6.31) It feels a huge thing to do, moving your loved one into residential care. And it can be. Especially when you’re stricken with guilt as well as exhaustion to the point of burn-out. And worse, i…
Still Caring - Knowledge is power
Still Caring - Knowledge is power
by SPCK - Dorothy M Stewart
7 Knowledge is power Teach me knowledge and good judgment……………………… (Psalm 119.66) Most private residential homes produce glossy brochures with attractive photographs and glowing descriptions of the care they aim to provide. It looks so perfect. But of course it’s meant to. Homes …
Still Caring - Checking it out
Still Caring - Checking it out
by SPCK - Dorothy M Stewart
6 Checking it out Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. (Matthew 7.7) When you’re thinking about, or inspecting, residential care facilities, it is a good idea to be clear about what you are looking for and why...
Still Caring - Be Prepared