Z- Zoom in on the Possibilities

I spent most of my adult life as a caregiver and I complained a lot at the beginning of the journey. I complained then, yet now, I thank God for the positive outcomes and who I have become as a result of the caregiving. I never imagined how hard it would be, yet how rewarding it is. Looking at it from this other side, I know you are probably right in the midst of it and it could be hard to focus on the positive. 

 Someone has said that hindsight is 2020 and, in my situation, as being a caregiver, that is truly accurate because I can see so many positive outcomes from the opportunities that I had and the choices that I made to care for loved ones. The first one is I became the hope lady and wrote a book about it. If you allow God to enter your circumstance, no experience is ever wasted. When you learn from it, it will take you to a new level. So much of my testimony revolves around the initial experience of moving in with my little feisty mother in love. It was not an easy time, yet I would not be the person I am today without those stories to tell and the common experiences that I can have with you. Another very positive outcome is that I learned to honor fully and will receive the benefits of honoring for the remainder of my life.  

What are some active things you can do? Here's what I suggest. 

• Make a list of your benefits of caregiving. I love to mind map. That's where you put a circle in the middle and spokes out. And this is the basis for how I gain the content to start writing, because it allows me to capture my thoughts as they're occurring, and it helps me to get them all down without organizing them without stopping.
• Rewrite the end of your own story. Make the decision today to change the end of your life script. No matter what has been done to you today, you can take control of the rest of your decisions. Choose to give to yourself freely, yet establish boundaries. Forgive and let go of past hurts. 
• Take care of yourself. When rested and balanced you bring about a positive outcome for those you care for. Make a list of the benefits, rewrite the end of your own story and take care of yourself. Zoom on into those possibilities. And here's another part. It may seem like it right now, but this will not last forever.

 Prayer:

Thank you Lord, that I have been taught the true meaning of honor and I ask you, Lord, that this message will resonate with my listeners. Thank you Lord, that you provide a special blessing when I honor those I care for and I'm looking forward to the blessing of a really long life and the favor that comes along with it. I also choose to forgive freely and move forward with confidence in your goodness and the plan you have for me and everyone in my family. Stand tall and honor fully, because that's what you're looking for. I ask this in Jesus name. Amen. 

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Transcript

[00:09] Karen: Welcome to the Hope is Powerful podcast. My name is Karen Sebastian-Wirth, affectionately known as The Hope Lady, and I'm here to share with you a hope infusion. I know you may be in a dark place right now, but you will get through it. You can go from rock bottom to the mountaintop. Let's start taking steps towards that today.

[00:38] Karen: Welcome back to Hope is powerful podcast. So excited to finally be finishing last letter, which is the letter Z in the ABCs of Self-Care for Caregivers. It is for the word zoom and I am calling it Zoom in on the Possibilities. 

 When I wrote this blog years ago, we didn't have Zoom calls. It was something that really surged forward. I'd done webinars, but not necessarily Zoom calls. But what I want you to do with this letter Z is to think about focusing on positive outcomes, no matter what situation you find yourself in. I've shared throughout this series the four caregiving scenarios in my life, and those are the ones I write about in the power of hope for caregivers, and I never thought about it much before. Yet I spent most of my adult life as a caregiver and I complained a lot at the beginning of the journey. I complained then, yet now, I thank God for the positive outcomes and who I have become as a result of the caregiving. I never imagined how hard it would be, yet how rewarding it is. Looking at it from this other side, I know you are probably right in the midst of it and it could be hard to focus on the positive. 

 Someone has said that hindsight is 2020 and, in my situation, as being a caregiver, that is truly accurate because I can see so many positive outcomes from the opportunities that I had and the choices that I made to care for loved ones. The first one is I became the hope lady and wrote a book about it. If you allow God to enter your circumstance, no experience is ever wasted. When you learn from it, it will take you to a new level. So much of my testimony revolves around the initial experience of moving in with my little feisty mother in love. It was not an easy time, yet I would not be the person I am today without those stories to tell and the common experiences that I can have with you. Another very positive outcome is that I learned to honor fully and will receive the benefits of honoring for the remainder of my life. Let me read you an excerpt from my book, the power of hope for caregivers. Honor the ride that best explains this scriptural principle. Honor makes a huge difference in caregiving. The fifth commandment given by God to Israel through Moses has a promise attached to it. In Exodus 2012, it says, honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you. Deuteronomy 516 takes this promise one step further by including the promise of favor in your life when you choose to honor your parents. This is a foundational principle that all caregivers should remember and celebrate, even while navigating through difficult times. The Hebrew word that expresses honor in these two verses is kabed. It has opposite meanings. On the negative side, “kabed” can be heavy, burdensome, dull, or severe. Meanwhile, on the positive side, it means filled with glory, weighty, noble, or wealthy. I have experienced both sides of this word “kabed,” and I am grateful to have risen above the weight of obligation to the joy of serving and honoring fully. The rewards of exploring the positive version of honor are priceless and long reaching. Wow, that's good. I needed to be reminded of that. Here's another positive outcome I finished strong with no regrets. Here is another excerpt from my book, the power of hope for caregivers. Honor the ride we live in a society that seems to have forgotten the true meaning of respect and favorable regard. Many parents go through tremendous difficulties as they perpetuate the abuse or neglect, they suffered in their own childhood. In these situations, communication breaks down over the years as family members separate and alienate themselves from those who have wronged them. Honor does not condone this behavior. Instead, the essence of honor is to recognize the role of a person in your life and trust God in their execution of that appointment. Parents may fail in many ways and hurt their children. While this is not right or in God's plan, when it's your turn to take care of them in their final days, you have an opportunity to change the legacy and direction of your entire family and live a longer life and experience unprecedented favor in all you do. You are being given the chance to rewrite the end of the story and redeem the pain by creating powerful positive memories to take the place of the painful ones. The redemptive quality of honor is applicable to much more than just parent child relationships. In any type of caregiving situation, honoring the one you care for will empower you with the peace of mind that comes with no regrets. What are some active things you can do? Here's what I suggest. Make a list of your benefits of caregiving. I love to mind map. That's where you put a circle in the middle and spokes out. And this is the basis for how I gain the content to start writing, because it allows me to capture my thoughts as they're occurring, and it helps me to get them all down without organizing them without stopping. Second one, rewrite the end of your own story. Make the decision today to change the end of your life script. No matter what has been done to you today, you can take control of the rest of your decisions. Choose to give to yourself freely, yet establish boundaries. Forgive and let go of past hurts. Number three, this has been what we've been talking about this whole series. Take care of yourself. Go back and review these podcasts, and especially the notes, the ABCs of Self-Care for Caregivers care for caregivers regularly to make sure you're taking care of the most important part of the caregiving equation. Yep, you guessed it. That's you. It is so important to do this because you have to be well and rested and balanced to bring about the positive outcome for those you care for. Make a list of the benefits, rewrite the end of your own story and take care of yourself. Zoom on into those possibilities. And here's another part. It may seem like it right now, but this will not last forever. Let's pray. 

 Prayer:

Thank you Lord, that I have been taught the true meaning of honor and I ask you, Lord, that this message will resonate with my listeners. Thank you Lord, that you provide a special blessing when I honor those I care for and I'm looking forward to the blessing of a really long life and the favor that comes along with it. I also choose to forgive freely and move forward with confidence in your goodness and the plan you have for me and everyone in my family. I pray this for every caregiver who hears this series, that they will embrace the truth here. Stand tall and honor fully, because that's what you're looking for. I ask this in Jesus name. Amen. Thank you for listening. What a joy to have you along for this ride and I'm looking forward to bringing you more episodes of hope is powerful podcast. If this has been a blessing to you, write a review, share it with someone who's on the caregiving journey and most of all, really take care of yourself. We need you. We need what you bring to this world. You are a shining light and I know that God is giving you everything that you need so you can honor. Talk to you next time.

[09:46] Karen: Thanks so much for listening to The Hope is Powerful Podcast. Subscribe now and join our Facebook group the power of hope for more hope infusions. 

Until next time, keep looking up for hope.