Spring Will Come

I have a pretty severe case of winter/caregiving doldrums, and so I spent time this morning gathering some encouraging reminders in the form of favorite quotes that I've shared below.  Spring will come! 

A caregiving journey may seem long and arduous.  The following quote always reminds me that taking care of Mom isn't an interruption in my life plan, but a holy purpose for both my life and Mom's, ordained by the Lord:

Frodo: I wish the Ring had never come to me. I wish none of this had happened.

Gandalf: So do all who live to see such times; but that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us. There are other forces at work in this world, Frodo, besides the will of evil. Bilbo was meant to find the Ring. In which case, you were also meant to have it. And that is an encouraging thought (Wikiquote.org).  The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (film). (2014, January 14). Wikiquote, . Retrieved 15:48, February 13, 2014 from http://en.wikiquote.org/w/index.php?title=The_Lord_of_the_Rings:_The_Fellowship_of_the_Ring_(film)&oldid=1666615.

In Psalm 84 "The Valley of Baka" is translated elsewhere as "The Valley of Weeping."  I've shed so many tears over Alzheimer's disease, this horrid entity that has infiltrated our lives and taken so much away.  But if I shift my focus from what I have lost to how the Lord has provided for me through this time, I feel blessed, richly blessed.

"Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
    whose hearts are set on pilgrimage. 

 As they pass through the Valley of Baka,
    they make it a place of springs;
    the autumn rains also cover it with pools.

They go from strength to strength,
    till each appears before God in Zion" (Psalm 84:5-7). 

Caregiving entails many unseen and apparently unappreciated acts of service.  Discouragement is a constant danger.  Every day I need forgiveness for the ways I sin and fail, but this verse reminds me of the Lord's perfect knowledge of all I've given.  

"This is what the Lord says:'Restrain your voice from weeping
    and your eyes from tears,
for your work will be rewarded,”
declares the Lord'" (Jeremiah 31:16).  

I'm praying encouragement for my fellow caregivers who read these words. God is with us in our trial and we have hope through the certainty of His promise: winter will pass, and spring will come!  

"See! The winter is past;
    the rains are over and gone.  Flowers appear on the earth;
    the season of singing has come,
the cooing of doves
    is heard in our land" (Song of Songs 2:11-12).