Spiritual Tools for Caregivers (and other people too!)
Purpose is a tricky word. Loaded, yet it sometimes comes off as trite or insensitive. It seems easy for the person with everything going their way to speak of purpose. But, what does it mean to find purpose in the struggle?
When chronic illness enters the scene, purpose may take on a deeper meaning that includes:
Love. To love when it is difficult and inconvenient and messy is true love. Though it is not fun and light, love through struggle is dripping with purpose. Is there a greater purpose really?
Direction. Loving and caring during tough times does not always feel victorious. You may feel like you’re losing, like you’re not sure if you’re even doing the right things. But as you keep going in the right direction, attempting to do the next right thing, you are living into purpose in the struggle.
Determination. To keep going when you don’t feel like it is the hallmark of determination. Living with an illness, caregiving, or passing through a season of any type of adversity requires grit. As you exercise this resilience in the midst of relentless odds, you are the embodiment of purpose whether you feel like you are or not.
There is more to be said on this, but hopefully these ideas give you a better way to interpret your experience in the struggle.
Worth Repeating
If we want greater clarity in our purpose or deeper and more meaningful spiritual lives, vulnerability is the path.
-Brene Brown
