Easter Show for Caregivers

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Every gift counts and now every gift is double training pastor.com laundry, cleaned up plating meals all the things that go on with the fabricator back-and-forth doctors offices back-and-forth rehab centers back and forth to pharmacist on the phone with insurance companies and then just sometimes laying there and having a late night conversation with the ceiling fan. This is the show for you as a family caregivers hosted by caregiver.

It's for caregivers about caregivers. All things caregiver were glad that you're with. It's a tough journey being a caregiver taking care of somebody who has a chronic impairment that could be here to give elderly loved one, or somebody has Alzheimer's dementia maybe is a special-needs child. Maybe it's somebody who is had a terrible accident some type of trauma is in my case, my wife was hurt 38 years ago and denies cluster 80 surgeries that I can count in both of her legs amputated hundred plus doctors who treated and still ongoing.

Maybe you're taking care of somebody who has impairment such as alcoholism or addiction. Those are chronic impairments. Wherever there's a chronic impairment. There is a caregiver.

And so we decided on this show, the organist speak to the heart of a caregiver to help share things in a way that's going to make sense that caregiver. I speak fluent caregiver.

The better news is that it's our Savior's native tongue, and he understands the journey in ways that we can never ever imagine. And he cares for us and for you, in particular in this weekend on this Easter weekend. We wanted to focus on that message and offer this in a way that makes sense to you as a caregiver in your journey to strengthen you along the way. Strength for the day bright hope for tomorrow is the old hymn says great is a faithful strength for today bright hope for tomorrow but will start off with this story of of of a pastor friend of mine and he called me after he was going through the excruciating process of bearing his dog beloved dog have a view all done had to lose a pit that you love dearly. It was, you know, there's always the animals that we have in our lives can become incredibly dear to us and we all know the pain of that and he called me after doing this in while digging the hole.

He said he was just weeping and was angrily reflected on how much he hated death and in our conversation it turns the countless funerals that he's perfect, presided over as a pastor and I played for a lot of those form on the piano. My dad is a pastor enough play for many the funerals and he presided over sometimes when you're the piano player in your dad's a pastor you you get Preston cheap labor and not play for many funerals.

Growing up, and then I ended up doing this for my pastor in Nashville for many years to them talk about now in always looked at it as a as a a ministry opportunity at funerals. I won't play for weddings. I hate playing for weddings. Too much drama, but it funerals.

That's a time for ministry and reflection and so I welcome the opportunity to play for folks and as a way of comforting them and we talked about all those funerals that we've done together and we both shared our anger at death and then he said something that never left still with me today.

He said you know who hates death more than it is waited quietly and he said God hates death. He hates death that he had. He hates it so much that he took it upon himself to provide a way to defeat death for many of us is caregivers. We spent a lot of time in what I call the loan valley of the shadow of death, and it's a painful place the hard place. Can you imagine know that Saturday between what we call Good Friday and Easter Sunday. Can you imagine what was going through the disciples months and all the folks who would would follow Jesus through that. The thing got punch that it was to they had no idea what was about to come. They just knew that everything they had staked their lives on had been just absolutely ripped apart.

Let's go back couple weeks before the crucifixion and Jesus was standing at Lazarus grade you member the story in John 1138 Sears and Jesus was deeply moved, was deeply moved some translations. They state that that anger welled up in Jesus anger and death. Go look it up and deliver what my pastor said God hates death and you can see that in Jesus. He knew he was going to raise Lazarus from the dead he knew he was the resurrection. Yuri told Mary that so why was he feels would because at the key out of the high don't like to speculate squishy but evidently there's enough evidence there to to say that Jesus solve this and he just it just it angered. He hates death more than we do and then just weeks later after being at Lazarus is to Jesus indeed conquered death, but a great cost to himself never read the Chronicles of Narnia and the lion the witch and the wardrobe of CS Lewis. Many of you read this Edmund his life. One of the one of the children.

His life was forfeit because the he had betrayed the with white which and Lucy looked at Azlan who was relieved that the Christ figure in this great line. She said please ask. Can anything be done to save it. Nasim said also be done, but it may be harder than you think it was done. All should be done but may be harder than you think. Sometimes is caregivers. It's easy for us to get pulled into the drama of what were doing. But if we could step back and see the greater story of what's going on in Scripture as is, as we see God make away God who hates death made a way to take it all on himself and when we meet we grasp that concept, we can look at our loved ones who are struggling. We can look at ourselves, we can look at the world around us. That is often in disarray and feels like it's spinning out of control.

We can be anchored in knowing that he has made a way more painful.

It is harder than we thought. But there is a way. All shall be done, but it may be harder than you think. And that's what you see all the Scriptures talk about fortitude and endurance and strength.

Don't be afraid.

You have often sit on the show.

The most repeated commandment in Scripture is the feared and don't be afraid God knows where freight is why says it's a pretty tough to be afraid. He knows were free. So how do we function in this thing we were looking at such heartbreaking loss we go back to the fundamentals. There's a lot of things we don't know a lot of people try to speculate what why would God do this, why would I don't know a lot of these things. But here's what I do know that he stretched out his arms gave his life on the he hates death, far more than any made way to conquer this gospel and this is hope for the cure euros and this is the silvery family. Do you know discuss this permeating will be right. I'm Gracie Rosenberger 26 years ago I walked for the first time in two prosthetic legs. I saw firsthand how important quality prosthetic limbs are 20 PT this understanding compelled me to establish standing without more than a dozen years we've been working with the government of Ghana in West Africa, equipping and training local workers to build and maintain quality prosthetic limbs for their own people on a regular basis we purchase and ship equipment and supplies and with the help and inmates in a Tennessee prison. We also recycle parts from donated lambs. All of this is to point others to Christ.

The source of my help and strength these visit standing without.com to learn more and participate in lifting others out that standing with help.com. I'm Gracie and I'm standing with help as I is my wife Gracie and Johnny are singing through the great statement of faith was Johnny know her story 50+ years in a wheelchair with quadriplegia. Together, these two women are planning their flag and that statement through it all come to learn about the faithfulness of God have come to understand his provision in the midst of these things in their speaking words of life to themselves and and then the rest of us get to listen to that which is extraordinary. You know, seems increasing trend in our society to remove anything or anyone that makes us feel uncomfortable. Not just about the canceled culture. This inclination extends into the fabric of existence whether the unborn or those facing end-of-life through age, disability or disease. The pressure remains enormous to consider death as a preferred, even quote unquote dignified alternative to enduring the challenges God's word, however, strengthens and equips us to endure the unimaginable. As believers, we rejoice with, and must care for those choosing life while we mourn those who don't.

May we mourn in such a way that those individual see Christ's compassion reflected her tears in their distress, we can gently speak words of life like Gracie and Johnny are doing in this so through it all I've learned to depend upon his word yet addressing those sorrows of others flows from the life we regularly hear and speak to ourselves and our own heartaches.

Are you speaking life to yourself. You've heard me often on the show play that great him by Philip Bliss beautiful words, wonderful words, wonderful words of life are you speaking those words of life to yourself today. This is a great week to remind us of that. There is a place where we can go to an anchor ourselves in the word of God. Beautiful words, wonderful words, wonderful words of life. You know that him a step over the caregiver keyboard over wonderful life in each wonderful this is why we do the show because we don't say these words to if we don't see these were stores and for not listening to them on a regular basis.

What are we doing when we listen to what we hear and what we have to offer. You see you in both is caregivers have people that are counting on us, that they may not be able to articulate it for maybe there bitter or resentful or whatever but they're still cutting maybe repaired and was going on with her still cutting what you off where you drawing your strength from where you drawing your encouragement from where you drawing your ability to love from where worse.

Where's the spec that we withdraw from you remember when Jesus told the woman at the well and John for drink for me the thirsty were all thirsty for life were all thirsty love for all thirsty to be cared for all thirsty for for that source of of life in Jesus steps into that insist here I this is where this is where the fountains this is this is where the sources you know that old hymn, come thou fount of every blessing. He's the fount for this and in the reasonably these hymns a lot those you Regulus is shown of this is because it's very hard to to memorize all the things were talk about this other silly things that fly by. But if you can just hear one melody, one song one phrase stands our course that you can just cut a home throughout the day and I'm hoping that one of these hymns that we play on the social play will stick with you and moments of distress and grief and sorrow and frustration and anger and that you will be able to recall things in a way that's meaningful to maybe you just home that phrase beautiful words, wonderful words, wonderful words of life and remind yourself that you've got to hear this repeatedly over and over and over again go back to the source to get back to the fount body hard to do this on your own strength mighty heart. This, and I would say that you would do this long enough you find this impossible to do this on your industry.

Make get by with it for a while. Wednesday never hit some test for three months listening start stretching in the years in my case the ailment three and half decades. You gotta have something greater than yourself to pull and what greater the grace of God. You know that old hymn grace grace God's grace grace that is greater than all of us in this list, let's talk about this a lot of the show. I don't really get into the nuances of caregiving because I can't tell you how to take care of your loved one anymore than you could tell me how to take care of my know we can all kick around a few things about doctors and insurance companies and tips learned along the way, that's fine.

But that's not really the core issue because once you figure out how to do with insurance company. You don't have to have somebody remind you of this race. If you got it come if you are given an injection. You know the first time you did it you probably pretty nervous. I was no Gracie was his house.

Give it to her and the yeah I was a little bit dicey to teach you how to handle syringes in music school. I have pretty steady hands but still this good for the piano but honestly with a syringe and shortening, FL, we're doing it, but after a while you done enough of these things years like you, I don't have to be trained will have to hold my breath and wonder from there to get it right every single time. That's not where the battle is for us is caregiver in the task of caregiving. As I was about yelling out learned some stuff. I've changed complicated dressings with her that I had gone up with glove up with mask long before coronavirus and that was a little bit tense but that's up battle for us is in the heart battle is where we live in those dark moments was isolation. Moments when there's fear when there's sorrow, angst and grief and rage and resentment all those kinds of things.

That's what we have to be reassured reminded and revisit these issues in the light of Scripture what is God saying about the six know you can look throughout all Scripture you will find anything about given an injection of look there's nothing but you can find a whole lost about fear, about rage, about resentment, about bitterness, about sorrow, grief and loss is the human condition. That's where we live. So this is where you take this show to speak to those things the way that caregivers can understand so that we can better navigate these difficult difficult waters, we can do this Scripture says we can do all things through Christ who strengthens me not, I can do all things to spite you all things through Christ. Sometimes we get our backs up that we try to do it all to spite, but I'll show them is that with this is about what we're doing here is caregivers is putting ourselves between a vulnerable level and even worse disaster. But it doesn't mean our life, our joy, our peace is to be sacrificed in this than have to be you know that you can be joyful. Did you know that human peacefulness and did you know that when you're not those things. You can get back on the highway and reclaim there's a path of were going to fail pretty regularly.

The goal was not to be perfect and it goes to make progress in professional come through Christ. He will perfect. All these things is his perfection were counting on nine hours seeing them over and over again. Wonderful words of life, Christ, the blessed one gives to all wonderful words of life center list to the loving call, wonderful words of life, also freely given willingness to have these are songs. These are messages. These are thoughts. These are words that is caregivers are going to carry us through these very very painful places, those things get through the day is secured to the next hours as it were up against the clock. I gotta take a quick break when we come back. I'm getting special some way from Gracie perfect self meaningful help drive home all is caregivers. Have you ever struggled to trust God when lousy things happen to you. I'm Gracie Rosenberger in 1983 I experienced a horrific car accident leading 80 surgeries in both legs and became it.

I questioned why God allowed something so brittle to happen to me.

But over time I questions changed and I discovered courage to trust God that understanding along with an appreciation for quality prosthetic limbs led me to establish standing with help more than a dozen years we been working with the government of Ghana and West Africa, equipping and training local workers to build and maintain quality prosthetic limbs for their own people on a regular basis. We purchased ship equipment and supplies and with the help of inmates in a Tennessee prison.

We also recycle parts from donated lambs.

All of this is to point others to Christ. The source of my help and strength, please visit standing with help.com to learn more and participate in lifting others that standing without.com. I'm Gracie and I am staining with help is hope caregiver here. American family radio glad to have you with this big shout out to all of our affiliates as well.

The show the Truth Network. His radio network and several other affiliates all across the country. We are so grateful that you see value in the show that you. To you who are listening to the show if you see value in the show. If you see something that is stirring your heart would you take a moment to go to hopefully caregiver.com. Hopefully caregiver.com and be a part of supporting what were doing. You just click on the donate button right there on the front page will send you a copy of Gracie CD as a thank you for the youth you hear music all the time and buffers and so forth, and we'd love to be able to send that to you and for you to enjoy that all the time because she is such an amazing singer and we are thrilled to be able to do this show one of my greatest passions is to be able to reach out to my fellow caregivers that offer the same hope that I dependable as a caregiver and I didn't have this kind of information. It was a radio show when I was struggling along this thing for decades.

Most people didn't know what to say to me and and out. I struggled along, and every now that I find a nugget here negative. I kept all these things, and of aggregated so that it makes sense to you now is my fellow caregiver of what this looks like to trust God in this. How do we navigate to a place of safety where we go from here.

What we do.

This afternoon, what we do right now to get through the six and if you see value in all that we do it. I'm asking you to go out to hopefully caregiver.com and be a part of supporting whatever's on your heart will send you a copy of Gracie CD.

Hopefully caregiver.com I don't go to the gospel of Mark.

Mark 16 Mark 16 and this is a very familiar passage, but there's something in this that I want to specifically drill down for you and me, for us as caregivers that I think will be very, very meaningful to us. Let me read it first when the Sabbath was passed.

This is verse one Mark 16 reading in the English standard version with the Sabbath was passed, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother James, and Salome brought spices so that they might go and anoint him in very early on the first of the week when the sun had risen.

They went to the two and they were saying to one another who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb and looking up they saw that the stone is been rolled back was very large and entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe and they were alarmed and he said they do not be alarmed. You see, Jesus of Nazareth who was crucified. He is risen, he is not here see the place where they laid but go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee that you will see him just as he told you and they went out and fled from the two were trimming astonishment and sees them. They said nothing to anyone, for they were free know we've all heard this Easter story while reading this specifically on the show for caregivers, even though it is Easter weekend. There is a great deal of thought out there that the author of the Gospel of Mark gospel according to Mark was actually Peter dictating to Mark. I don't know you have to talk to scholars about the it doesn't surprise me that the gospel of Mark has a lot of action that love people referred to as the action gospel and then Jesus did this the Jesus did this of the date of this they did this and there's it. Repetitive action sounds like Peter's characteristics that we've come to know from history and from Scripture.

Regardless of which there's a lot in that phrase I just read when the angel is saying to the women that look you go back and tell his disciples and tell Peter and Peter. Why is it important to us as a caregiver here my thoughts on this. We caregivers berate ourselves without mercy on any given day. We are so hard on ourselves. We see our failures, they are right up in our business there right up in our faces and we look at these things and were just like that I get. Imagine the apostle Peter right after Jesus had looked at him after the leave the rooster and Cronin, and Peter denied him three times in the end, Peter went out and wept bitterly us with bitterly. Can you imagine what he was feeling. Following the crucifixion try to put yourself in his place. Imagine how he was tormenting himself and here we are in Easter morning with this proclamation from this angel saying to these women that go tell his disciples he's going to make their go tell his disciples and Peter.

He singled Peter out the angel of the Lord singled Peter out to communicate to him specifically. I would suggest to you that is the heart of God that he sees us in our failures. He sees us in our bitter weeping. He sees us in our heartache and knows us by name in it and would meet us in that heartache to assure us that we have not been cast off that we are not somehow just thrown to the side.

He knows our failures. He knows my failures and when you've had that kind of encounter with Christ where in your failures.

You experience the great grace and mercy of God. It is, it is like nothing else you can describe it other than you know. Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me, or that other him how show my tongue describe where Siletz praise begin the wonderful grace of Jesus greater than all my sin these hymns mean something different in that context because that you you've experienced the healing and restoring hand of God himself. In your life that is a caregiver. I know that you have a complete inventory of your failures. I know you do and you break yourself and beat yourself up relentlessly about another but did you also have an inventory list of his great mercy storage. Do you also carry with you a a an account of God's faithfulness to are you aware of his great love for are you just as aware of his mercy as you are aware of your failure. If not, why not, why not start today and that's what this particular passage in scripture means that's what this whole weekend of celebration of the resurrection of Christ means that here. This angel of the Lord is sitting there. These women commended their stunt is an empty to what's going on here. He is risen. You go back and tell these guys until Peter singled Peter out because he knew he knew that Angel knew bitter tears that Peter had whipped God said that Angel to communicate and Jesus encounter Peter later when he asked him about Peter D left do you love me and he restored Peter in that in that journey and that it would course, was Peter after Pentecost that stood up in such power and such clarity, purpose, and everything else in and led thousands to the Lord at Pentecost but he couldn't do those things until he was restored until he was able to reconcile with the mercy of God that covered his denial of him that covered his failure and I would say to you, and myself as caregivers that it's very difficult for us to extend grace to others.

If we ourselves have not embraced that grace and been captured by an been restored by and have that is our cleaning lifeline in the midst of the craziness that we deal with. We will fail. We will make mistakes and I have forgotten more mistakes than most of you will ever make as a caregiver we have had for three and half decades of this I have made every Mistake you can make.

But I've also been able to witness firsthand the mercy of God, the, the grasping grace of God that envelops us and lets us know that he knows us by name and he does. He knows you by name knows me money and some asking you or a leap of faith today. The trust that mercy is available to you right right this moment just receive it.

Just ask Lord okay if Peter is saying this, it is true. Father let it follow it's his word, and I'm asking you to be willing to consider that for that leap of faith as you struggle with very difficult realities in another painful and I know that you weeping bitter tears as much as I know, it's more important that he knows that he does and he knows you Monday to go to break and come back in about play the song, I promise you would. The last segment here of Gracie and I want you just hopefully just still on these words throughout this weekend and what this really means the resurrection of Christ. What this means to you specifically as a family caregiver is somebody who has to watch heartache and somebody who takes an inventory of your own mistakes. Would you be willing to take a new inventory of his mercies are new every single this hopefully can I caregiver I lifetime life glides at you with us. This is the nation's number one chauffeur use a family caregiver for the 65 million Americans serving as a family care. Those of you who are putting yourself between vulnerable of what even worse disaster.

This shows specifically designed to help strengthen and encourage you today were glad you with this. If you want to send us some information about you or questions that you might have for tell your story or anything this on your heart just got to hope for the caregiver.com.

I read every one of those notes and I there. There precious to be there to other treasured notes and I'd love to hear from you. If you have something that's on your mind and your heart that you'd like to share. We keep those things confidential just you and me. That's the whole point of all of this is to have a safe place where caregivers can go and share their heart in this show in our website and everything that we do is decide to help strengthen and protect that caregiver's heart healthy caregivers make better characters in today's a great day to start being healthy as I promised, I wanted to play this song for you. This is Gracie, and Johnny Erickson totter singing because he lives in.

II remember going to both of them and say look, I like to do this arrangement of it aborted out of the keyboard I made of both work at it a lot because it's a little slower than what you probably used to hearing but I felt like these words would be more weighty coming from these two women then just if other folks maybe just got in studio saying it was something about their journey that brings more gravitas if you will, to the lyrics of this amazing salt there for those you don't know Gracie or Johnny story. They were both hurt when they were 17 years old Johnny dove off the dock. The Chesapeake Bay 17-year-old girl and broke her neck. She's been paralyzed since 1967 quadriplegia and her story has touched millions upon millions around the world. She is also survived to difficult belts of breast cancer and she has journeyed in places of disability and sorrow and loss and struggle that few people can really appreciate being in that wheelchair now for over 50 years. Gracie when she was 17 she was driving to meet a friend of hers left Nashville and was heading towards Little Rock, Arkansas never made it. Even as far as Memphis on 40 she fell asleep at the wheel middle the day slammed into a concrete about car flipped multiple times in an intervening caught on fire.

Gracie's body was completely broke.

Later, a gentleman who was the resident surgeon when they brought into the ER told her prostitutes guy that makes her prosthetic legs told him that they stopped counting at 200 breaks it just it was devastating car accident in her body.

She said orthopedic treatment. She held onto her legs for a long time. They tried to surgically repair and so forth.

Eventually she had to give them she became a AA PT in the 90s today that I can count. Gracie has endured no more than 80 surgeries and at least 150 smaller procedures treated by over 100 doctors in 12 different hospitals. She lives with relentless pain when they combined their voices to sing this song they they brought all of their pain.

All of their sorrow. All of their understanding of God's provision in that pain and sorrow to this so and breathing is tougher. Both of Johnny courses in the chair just to have a corset to help her breathe and Gracie can't stand up straight.

Her body was bent over there a lot of architectural reasons why Gracie can't sit up straight anymore was very difficult for both and I pushed a little bit to make a fork of the so but they delivered in spades. And as you listen to them saying this this Easter weekend. I want to caution you, at first you might want to pull over if you're driving or just sit in a quiet place and let the faith and the experiences of voices in the hearts of these two women inspire your heart today to give you a little bit more encouragement and hope that the same God that sustains them and their challenges is just as eager to sustain and equip and meet you in yours because he lives Johnny and Grace, you and me.

We can all face tomorrow. This is Johnny English and I did a little bit of pain and nice and we this is John Butler and I produced hope for the caregiver with Peter Rosenberger. Some of you know the remarkable story of Peter's wife Gracie and recently Peter talk to Gracie about all the wonderful things that have emerged from her difficult journey.

Take a listen Gracie. When you envision doing a prosthetic limb outreach. Did you ever think that inmates would help you do that, not in a million years. When you go to the facility run by core civic and you see the faces of these inmates that are working on prosthetic limbs that you have helped collect from all of the country that you put out the plea for and their disassembly sell these legs like what you have your own prosody and arms and arms everything when you see all this. What is the duty makes me cry because I see the smiles on their faces and I know I know what it is to be locked in place where you can't get out without somebody else allowing you to get out course, being in the hospital so much and so long and so that these men are so glad that they get to be doing as as one man said something good family with my hands. Did you know before you became an amputee that parts of prosthetic limbs could be recycled. Now I had no idea and I thought a peg leg.

I thought of wooden legs. I never thought of titanium and carbon legs and flex fate. The legs and all that.

I never thought about that as you watch these inmates participate in something like this, knowing that there there helping other people.

Now walk there, providing the means for the supplies to get over there. What is it due to you, just on the heart level. I wish I could explain to the world. What I see in here and I wish that I could be able to go and say the this guy right here Denise go to Africa with that.

I never not feel that way out every time you know you always make me have to leave. I don't want to leave them. II feel like I'm at home with them and I feel like that we have a common bond that would've never expected that only God could put together. Now that you've had experience with it what you think of the faith-based programs. The core civic offers. I think they're just absolutely awesome and I think every prison out there should have faith-based programs like this because the return rate of the man that are involved in this particular faith-based program and other ones like it, but I know about this one are.

It is just an amazingly low rate compared to those who don't happen and I think that that says so much that doesn't have anything to do with me just has something to do with God using somebody broken to help other broken people.

If people want to donate or use prosthetic limbs, whether from a loved one who passed away or you know somebody well groomed.

You've donated some of your own for the did it how to how they do that please go to standing with hope.com/recycle staining with hope.com/recycle. Thanks Grace