Overwhelmed?

One of the biggest things caregivers and widows deal with is the feeling of being overwhelmed. I remember feeling that way for a while when my husband was battling his cancer. Even when he was in remission, he didn’t have the strength to do the things here at the house that had always been his responsibility. Caring for a loved one it is a huge task.
Allowing others to help when they offer may be out of your character. However, I eventually learned that not only was it a blessing to me to be able to respond, “Yes, if you want, to you could plow my driveway,” or do such and such,” but it gives them the opportunity to be blessed as well.
After I became a widow, it took a couple years to be able to adjust to all of the added responsibility and to learn how to prioritize the many things that I felt needed to be done.
Letting others do things for us and prioritizing certainly help us when we are overwhelmed. The most important thing that I remembered is when I’m weary or overwhelmed with this life, I fall into God’s arms. He is waiting for us to rest in Him. He says in Matthew 11:28, “Come unto me all ye that labor and I will give you rest.” God wants to be “…our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” (Psalm 46:1) Tell Him how you are feeling and remember the Bible says that our load is heavy, but His is light. Ask Him to carry your burdens for you.
Although we find ourselves walking or swimming in deep waters and it feels like we will drown, we can be assured that He promised to never let the waters overtake us. I learned I needed to trust in that promise and to rest in that truth while I reached out to Him and allowed Him to pull me out of the waters and up to the other side. Once I realized my need and turned to Him, my burden became light. That weight I was carrying was gone.
It has been three years since my beloved went to Heaven, and I am still learning. However, the more I remember to turn to God and rely on Him as my husband, the calmer my pathway becomes. Remember, we do not have to walk this life alone!

Read also: Psalm 43:2 “When thou passeth through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee….”