As caregivers, we often have lists full of plans for the future. Plans for if a surgery goes ahead. Plans for if we are not able to pay a bill. Plans for meals to prepare for the holidays. We try to account for all contingencies ahead of time and when things go off our well-designed, color coded, carbon copied plans, we feel our control slipping away.

I commonly hear my husband get frustrated with two types of people in his workplace. First, the ones that are prideful and won’t admit they don’t know everything. Second, ignorant people that don’t realize they have only skimmed the surface of a topic. In either scenario there is an unwillingness to learn new things and it tends to hinder their work. Hearing him talk about this made me realize that there is an application in caregiving.

Writing these devotionals has brought up a lot of memories, both good and bad, from my time as a caregiver for my youngest child. We knew before she was born that she was going to require multiple heart surgeries in order to survive. Comforting her in the hospital became routine under the circumstances. But that comfort took a different shape as she got older.

My two teenagers are just a few years from being legal adults and moving out on their own. It has made me start thinking through all the things I want them to know before that happens. Can they do their own laundry? Are they able to cook for themselves? Will they be able to budget their money?

Recently I was called for jury duty. It was an interesting experience hearing from the judge and lawyers as our group of potential jurors were questioned about our backgrounds, including whether or not we knew the witnesses to the crime.