Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;) That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.  Ephesians 6: 2,3

Patience wears thin as a caregiver goes about caring for loved ones, in my case, my mother. As I talk to others about what goes on,  I think that the reason I do what I do is because I want to honor her as the Word says. But today was a busy one, as I had errands to do, and continue to pack boxes because the plan is to move in with my mother once she comes home from rehab.  My mother called as she always has since she has been away, confused and agitated, and in the evening sun downing causes the confusion to go deeper into mental disorientation, calling me every five to ten minutes asking me when I am picking her up.  It got to the point that I took the phone off the hook so I wouldn’t be bothered. I had answered the same series of questions with the same answers, but it seemed to no avail, as she called again and again.

Then I listened to a sermon on a Christian network, and guess what the title was? It had the phrase of honoring your mother, coming from the scripture listed above:  AGHHHHH!

I listened to the message just as the pastor was emphasizing the main issue that as you honor her you are also honoring God. Then (of course he had to put this in his message) he spoke of the years she poured into you as she cared for you, and we as children need to do the same in caring for them.  At that point, I stared at my phone that was on the floor with the receiver off the hook.  I put the receiver back, wondering how long it would take before the phone would ring again; it only took five minutes, and her questions were the same.

The goal in carng for my mother is to honor God. Patience is thin, but God gives me enough to get me through answering questions for the fifteenth time, hoping she will understand until the next call rolls around.

As I am willing to do the caring, God provides what I need (patience, in this case) to continue.  May God care for you in the same manner…