My wife is a caregiver. She started out in a nursing home doing dishes and then moved into caring for the elderly. Her mother was a nurse for 51 years, so I guess it was just natural for my wife to pick up some of that caregiving gift.

I called it a gift because it is. Not everyone has the patience or the stamina to be a caregiver.

Caregivers give tirelessly, day after day. They rarely get any praise; they work harder in a few hours than most do in an 8-hour day. They have a very rare passion that can’t be found on the surface because it comes from deep inside the heart.

My wife cared not only for her parents but also for mine when they got to the point of needing help with all the daily things we take for granted.

I remember when she took care of my dad. Every day she would make sure he did his physical therapy. He would call her “Atilla the Hun” because he thought she was relentless when it came to therapy. When my dad passed away in 2005, it was less than a year, when my mom, who was a type 2 diabetic, when her kidneys stop working. For the next 13 years, my wife and I took turns, sometimes together, dropping her off and picking her up from dialysis three times a week. Our schedule was centered around making sure Mom got to the dialysis center on time, every time.

Not only did we make sure she got her treatment, but special dieted meals had to be prepared. When it was time to get groceries, not everything could be found in one store. So multiple stores had to be traveled to in order to get the right food. These are only a mere few things that needed to be done on a regular basis.

Caregiving takes more than just a caring heart. It is very demanding; you have to be selfless, you get little sleep, and it will take an emotional and physical toll on your body.

I have witnessed this myself for many years, watching my wife, always doing the extra to care for someone.

I have also seen the physical and emotional price my wife paid, for being a caregiver. I couldn’t do it. I dont have the gift or the drive to do what my wife did.

Being a caregiver is not for the weak-minded or the physically weak person.

Our parents have all passed now, the last one in 2018. I can say I am glad we are past that stage in our lives where our days and nights are not focused on the well-being of our parents.

Both of us are now in our mid-60s, and we consider ourselves retired. We stay active by working part-time to keep our bodies in shape and our minds sharp.

God had called upon my wife to do caregiving. He has always provided strength when she needed it and the joy to keep doing it.

What has God called you to do? Have you answered the call?

God calls us all to be His ambassadors for Him. We are to tell the world of God’s greatness and love. We are the light of a dark world.

We serve a righteous and loving God. Our reward will be waiting for us on the day He comes and takes all of His children, those who have confessed and believed in faith that God is the one and only true King.

Mark 16:15-16 (KJV) And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.