How Would You Respond?

As caregivers we have so many things that hit us all the time and we can't always nail these things down by ourselves. Who helps you what does that look like I'm Peter Rosenberg and I want to you about a program but a part of. Now for almost 10 years. That's legal shield for less than $30 a month. I have access to a full law firm that can handle all kinds of things. If I get a contract put in front of me if I get of dispute was something doesn't matter, I've got full law firm that can help me navigate through all the sticky wicket is that we as caregivers have to deal with power of attorney medical power of attorney will every bit of it as a caregiver.

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Starting today that caregiver legal.com here on American family radio. I am Peter Rosenberger. This is the program for you as a family caregiver you do you know what's going on as you carefully love healthy caregivers make better cared how would you rate your health, physical, emotional, spiritual, financial, how are all those things work. If you feel like you struggling you're in the wrong place recently gracing I had a lunch with a woman who was really struggling her 2021-year-old son has now decided he is a woman and wants to live accordingly and she was wrestling with this issue markedly as you can imagine. She went on to add that her son had recently gotten mad at her and said you know you get pictures of me as a boy all around the house that I want them there and I watched her struggle to remind yourself to call him. She says she referred to him and it was very difficult for her.

She was stammering through it and trying to find solid ground here and she said, but I he wants me to take all the pictures down with him when he was a boy because now he wants to identifies woman. She said what I do well first off, I am no trained counselor and no mental health expert. I am caregiver and I am somebody who has watched suffering for a very long time and the only thing I knew were my own experiences and how it relates in the context of the word of God, but I asked her.

I said whose houses. She suppose my house and I said well it seems that you can mourn the loss of your son however you choose to.

She seemed very surprised by the answer and come to the deep breath and said yeah you're right I can't. I don't know how that situation has resolved itself and I don't know that it will resolve itself. I think that is a troubling set of circumstances that seem to be gripping.

A lot of people in our society, and certainly is a hot button issue in our culture again. I'm no trained mental health expert of not clergy.

I'm not any of those things living let me throw this out. You and see what you think you know most of you that listen, this program regular window that my wife is a bilateral empty both of her legs below the knee are amputated. This was an extremely difficult choice for her.

Her legs were so damaged that it was killing her to keep the and it was very painful decisions.

She spent a good bit of time with on removing those legs. The wreck that she had back in 1983. In a sense amputated both of surgically they were repaired but never able to function normally and sometimes parts of her body are broke and there there so broken that they're hurting the body will imagine if you would, if somebody wanted to amputate a fully functional part of their body just because they wanted to scratch an emotional image or identify is something else, and there are people out there who have done that, that if half head amputation done to their bodies. Some of them I know have solved their own fingers off so they can identify is an amputee. I know the staff met these people.

What would you say about them is a fully functional healthy part of the body just because they have an emotional itch. They want to do it.

Gracie had to have her legs removed because they were broken in damaged the limb was damaged. It was not functioning.

It was creating so much pain for her in so much distress and after many years of trying to save it. She finally said that with her surgeon and made the call and she's going on to live a much better life with prosthetic limbs that she had with her real limbs, but was not done to scratch an emotional itch or a mental state of mind there are people out there now who are advocating that we put chemicals into children's bodies puberty blockers because of an emotional plight that the kids may or may not find themselves there, advocating that they perform surgery on minors to remove and mutilate healthy functioning parts of their body. All because of an ideology that is sweeping certain parts of our culture. Gracie's amputations were not done because of an emotional need to identify something different. Her legs were broken beyond repair. They try to repair the it was prohibiting her from being able to function her gallbladder burst.

They had remove that if somebody came to surges that take out my gallbladder, I can live without it, pick it out. Was there something wrong with it will know I just don't want to have it. I just like to identify somebody without gallbladder. You see the correlation you see what's going on in the Hippocratic oath he says I will do no harm or injustice to them, meaning my patients. Neither will administer a poison to anybody. When asked to do so, nor will I suggest such a course. Similarly, I will not give to a woman, a pessary to cause an abortion, but I will keep pure and holy. Both my life and my art. I will not use the knife, not even barely on sufferers from stone.

Many kidney stones. In other words, the knife is the last thing the last course of action.

And yet we have people rushing now to mutilate minors. We have people rushing to do things that are just horrific Hippocratic oath goes on to say and whatsoever house as I enter I will enter to help the sick, and I will abstain from all intentional wrongdoing and harm, especially from abusing the bodies of man or woman bond or free goes on at the end of assist that if I carry out this oath and break it not, may I gain forever reputation among all men for my life and for my art. But if I break it and forswear myself with the opposite befall me that's the Hippocratic oath that he stood for eons and yet now look at where we are society were having these conversations. Why again I want to ask you if somebody came to you and said I want to amputate my left hand so that I can identifies a right-handed person is or something around your left and no I don't like it. I don't like the way it makes me feel whether let's go see a surgeon right away.

This is in a sense what is happening.

So I ask you, what are we to do about this. Do we just go along with this book culture do we just go and say well to observe whatever go ahead, there's a Surgeon General dinner go down and do that or do we recognize that there is a greater issue going on and we address it accordingly with the word of God. Romans 12 to do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect and I ask you, does this sound like the will of God is this in any way coincide with Scripture. This move to mutilate minors and children, not to mention adults but open adults are adults, but there toted to children in the putting this pressure listing.

We must accept this and it's tearing families apart different churches apart what we to do about this. If you even cursory glance at the news will see that there is this move to normalize mental illness in our society and their lot of family members who are stuck in this caregivers of the mentally ill really talk about that Simone comeback this is Peter Rosenberg.

This is hope for the caregiver will be right back.

We took listed with open over the years. This is the prosthetic limb through the Gracie division after losing both of her legs. Part of that outreach is our prosthetic limb recycling program. Did you know that prosthetic limbs can be recycled, located there is a correctional facility at Arizona that helps us recycle prosthetic limbs of this facility is run by a group out of Nashville, called core civic and we met them over 11 years ago and they stepped in to help us with this recycling program of taking prostheses and you disassembled, you take me the foot, the pylon, the tube clamps the adapters the screws of the liners. The prosthetic socks all these things we can reuse and inmates help us do it before core civic cable on how was city, Florida house or out of the garage and when we lived in Nashville that I had tools everywhere limbs everywhere should feed boxes of so for that I was at all this myself and I make the kids help make and they got to be too much for me and so I was very grateful that core civic stepped up said, look, we are always looking for faith-based programs that are interesting and that give inmates a sense of satisfaction and would love to be part of this and this what they're doing and you can see more about that it stayed with hope.com/recycle, so please help us get the word out that we do recycle prosthetic limbs. We do arms as well that the majority of amputations or or lower limb and that's where the focus of stating with hope. Is this where Gracie's life is with her lower limb prostheses. She's used some of her own limbs in this outreach that she's recycling. She's been in equity for over 30 years. So go through a lot of legs and parts and other types of materials and you can reuse prosthetic socks and liners if they're in good shape. All of this helps give the gift that keeps on walking and it goes to this prison in Arizona were in such an extraordinary minister think with it. Inmates volunteer for this. They want to do it and they fed amazing times with it and I've had very moving conversation with inmates at work in this program and you can see I get all of that is sitting with hope.com/recycle their putting together big shipment white male rush to ship over. We do this pretty regular throughout the year as inventory rises that they need it badly. And Donna, so please go to stayed with hope.com/recycle and get the word out and help us do more if you would offset some of the shipping you can always go to the giving page and be a part of what were doing their work purchasing material in God, or that they have to use that can't be recycled worshiping over stuff that can be and were doing all of this to lift others up and to point them to a Savior. That's the whole point of all this and that's why we are standing with hope.

Thanks so much and so as to the caregiver here on American family radio that is he's great and I love that him on the plane every time so that if you just love it is one of those 25 hymns. I think every Christian. I do know this is extraordinary. So if you don't know what these take time to go out searching learned we play it quite often on this program probably need to play it more. The message that him to me helps me keep the 30,000 foot view even higher of the bigger picture that there is a Redeemer and all the things we look at his caregivers are in the context of that great Redeemer who is working through all of this. It helps give me that assurance so that I can walk through the things that God has invited Gracie notable and trust him with greater understanding and so that's why the swell of that him many years ago. This is gotta be how well over 30 years ago before Gracie gave up her legs she was. It was the right leg first, but both of her legs were basically mangled in the car Rick and they surgically rebuilt them to the best they could, but the right one particular the right ankle was so messed up and she was hobbling around with the cane it you know she was 2025, 24, it was a very difficult time for her. Her right foot was kind of pointed inward. She had a very noticeable limp and walking gait that was very impaired and they diffuse the cycle several times to no avail. It was just continuing to decline most of the challenges that Gracie has today are as a result of so many surgeries trying to save her legs this the right leg was the main culprit, there was, and she went to a lot of heartache to say that right leg and ultimately had to give it up, but she was still struggling in that manner. On that leg. At this time and there was a a pastor at a church we attended there, Nashville.

He was new there any saw her coming out now you gotta see the picture with Gracie having Gracie go back to Dalton Bauer for Google are means just exquisitely beautiful woman and here's this young woman just so beautiful in every sheet she just dressed impeccably.

You know, just as extraordinarily beautiful.

She's coming to church and she's got this came. It was a cane that her father made for her out of the seat or from out here and in this place in Montana and she leaned on that cane and she's walking on it. She was walking again. She wasn't a 25 in this pastor would never matter looked at her he said you know if you ever get tired of using that I've had some great experiences in gifting from the Lord on healing well. Both of us were a bit taken aback. Know how to respond.

We both just young kids are 20s we been struggling with this and I don't remember how we got out of the conversation, but it stayed with me. I can remember where we were was that if it's one of those flashbulb moments in my mind and I called them up later on that evening and asked us he did know was that all and I said I would love to talk with you more about this. Do you know the history of how we got here and he did know really anything about that kind of gave him a big picture the city like to come over the house and the next night or so you think is within 48 hours. He showed up a not it. I heard the doorbell ring at her home and he stood outside he said I can't come in here until I ask for your forgiveness. He was he was almost to the point of tears. We would welcome them into the house and he sat down with this and he just apologized profusely for his insensitivity at some point between my phone call and him showing up at the house.

Something changed and he was incredibly gracious and extremely sorrowful that he had overstepped in and been so glib about. I don't doubt that he had witnessed amazing healing events in his past, and he continued to pray for us regularly and stay with Grace that through some very heart realities and I I love him deeply.

To this day. It was just one of those kind of extraordinary moments and we didn't talk a lot about faith healing and things such as that afterwards even though neither of us Gracie included this, that God could think it was just that general awareness that in this particular case, God chose not to.

And we accepted and trusted him. It it wasn't an extraordinary moment though to see him standing out on our doorstep that I cannot come into your home until I ask for your forgiveness and I thought how many of us wade into people suffering with little or no understanding of how they got there, including things such as mental illness, including things with this gender issue that's affecting somebody that are in ends on the airwaves everything else. How did we get here. What's the back story do we just you know bulky and ham-fisted lack of like a bunch of Clydesdale into people's heartache or can we step into it boldly, but with great compassion. I have some friends of mine who adopted a baby and this child has been through quite a bit as she matured and got older she went through all kinds of stuff and they did some work they did know she came into this world with something stacked against her, and they didn't know all the things that had gone on with her biological parents.

You drugs addiction other things and that was it was not that understanding of what this would mean to this child as it grew up somethings get passed on from generation to generation and is this child was acting out and going through all the stuff in these two people are the most loving, wonderful people you would ever hope to meet and their heart. It just grew and grew, grew and still persist to this day and all too many Christians wanted to parachute in and tell them what they ought to do. Tell them how to do this this so forth.

You know, think about the reaction you felt when I described that pastor telling Grace with every attorneys that cane I've got some real healing gifts.

We think about how aghast you felt to hear that because you you as an audience member, you got to know Gracie and you've known how difficult her hearty kids and yet how many people are doing this to parents of special needs children of children with emotional turbulence in their life.

Children who are choosing to go into all types of things. Whether it's addiction whether gender issues, whether it's homosexuality.

Whether whatever.

And yet we link to them and say you know I very guitar your kid acted this way you know I got really I think were called to have great humility in this area as believers and people who want to share the great redemption work of God. How can we say there is a Redeemer to other people unless we first understand it ourselves and see that redemption in our own life and that causes us to walk with great confidence with great humility and other people's heartache. The verse that that is just heavy on my heart. It has been since I started doing this program is what Paul said in Corinthians, you comfort one another with the same comfort that you yourself have received from the God of all comfort. What comfort have I received through this now multi-decade journey I've had with Gracie. If you had to speculate particular those of you listen to the program for a long time. What would you say what kind of comfort do you think I've received from the God of all comfort, when alternately I have received the comfort of knowing that he who began a good work is faithful to complete spouses of lipids, I received the comfort of knowing that he has not abandoned us that our God is sovereign and he is not caught unawares of all that is going on with Gracie in the suffering that I observed every day.

I have the comfort of knowing that he accepts me because of what he did. The provisions he made on the cross that I can boldly go to him and as Paul says cry, Abba, father, daddy, I have the comfort of knowing that he's working all of these things to his glory for good and I can trust.

I have the comfort of knowing that as I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil because he's with me in all these promises of Scriptures and all these things that he says about himself. I've been comforted knowing that I can rely on that that it is bedrock that there is at assurance remember what I told you a name that surgery of Gracie's in Denver earlier this year.

I called operation assurance aggressive assurance because all of us cry out for assurance. Is it going to be okay. Is it gonna be okay. Is it going to be okay and I had that comfort knowing that yeah it's gonna be okay for season it's going to be hard it's got to be painful. It's going to be lonely.

It's going to be distressing, wearisome, frustrating, and even fixing to fix, but it is going to be okay and he shall be with me through those times. So when we see others who are in peril. Whatever the distress even if it's self-inflicted.

Most things are. Do we go when heavy-handed. We go in with this growling, thus saith the Lord, or do we go in weeping and sit with them and assure them. Are we willing to stand at the doorway like that pastor said I can't come in until ask your forgiveness. That's my hope for myself that I will emulate that because I'm going to mess it up. What I mean. I'm going I have know what but yet that is our hope that he is that great meeting there is. That is hopeful to get right back