Caregiver Guilt: Confessions of a Walking Glue Stick 

14 Oct

Walking by Faith, Not by Sight

Janet Perez Eckles

 

His Way

 

Reblogged 10/13/17

Continuing on in our special October filled with guest bloggers, I invite you to enjoy a writing from Dr. Linda Cobourn. It will stir your heart, bring fresh inspiration to your day.

October 13, 2017

Forgiveness is a sticky subject. Letting go is a difficult thing. And forgiving oneself seems nearly impossible. But Linda gives a fresh perspective of the pain of self-condemnation compared to the freedom that forgiveness brings.

“I’m rubber, you’re glue, whatever you say bounces off me and sticks to you.”

My father-in-law blamed me. It was unreasonable, hurled out of frustration while we stood in the trauma unit, waiting to see if my husband would survive. I was thirty miles away in a graduate class when the driver of the pick-up truck broadsided Ron’s Taurus, but the reproach stayed with me for seventeen years.

I’m a walking glue stick.

Guilt is a common emotion for those who find themselves in the position of caregiver. The 2015 State of Caregiving Report noted that 81% of spousal caregivers feel guilty, making guilt the #1 emotional trap. We think we should do it all without complaint and we become frustrated with ourselves because we can’t. We self-punish for simply being human.  I beat myself up for an accident I did not cause, questioning every decision I made concerning my husband’s care. Yes, I agreed to the emergency surgery and it damaged his heart. My fault. Yes, I let him be put into the rehab unit where his slippers were misplaced and he caught pneumonia. My fault.   I even had occasional thoughts that it might have been better if Ron had not survived the accident.

That thought stuck on with Gorilla Glue.

But God is a solvent to even the strongest of adhesives. I began to search the Scriptures for a way to dislodge my self-reproach. One day, I wa

 

Source: Caregiver Guilt: Confessions of a Walking Glue Stick ~ Janet Perez Eckles

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2 Responses to “Caregiver Guilt: Confessions of a Walking Glue Stick ”

  1. Giovanni Carlo December 12, 2017 at 9:57 am #

    God is good all the time and he is our number one friend We can take all our troubles to him Matthew 11:28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  2. divoran09 October 14, 2017 at 2:05 pm #

    Goof post. A testimony always helps.

    Like

    Reply

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