The soul is not always lost dramatically. Sometimes it just drifts. A long season of difficulty, of pouring out more than is coming in, of caregiving, of grief, of waiting for answers that are slow in coming – and somewhere in the middle of all of it you look up and realize you are far from yourself. Not in crisis exactly. Just depleted. Thin. *Yeshobev nafshi.* He returns the soul. Not fixes it, not replaces it, not upgrades it. Returns it to where it belongs, to who you actually are underneath all of it. You are not taken to the quiet water because you are doing fine. You are taken there because you are a sheep, and sheep do not know how to find it alone, and the shepherd does. He does not restore a better version of you. He restores you.
Tag Archives: Caregiving
Verse & Vision | May 23, 2026
There is a version of self-sacrifice that looks like the cross but isn’t. It gives and gives and gives, not from the overflow of a full and grounded soul, but from the hollow place of someone who has confused loving others with losing themselves.
Today’s passage does not call us to that. It calls us to something harder and more clarifying: the mindset of Christ, who emptied himself with full intention, for a defined purpose, in submission to the Father’s will – not in compliance with someone else’s desire for him.
Being true to yourself, in the way God means it, is not selfishness. It means honoring the soul God placed in you, protecting the purpose he put you here for, and refusing to sacrifice what is sacred on the altar of someone else’s comfort or convenience.
Self-surrender to God first, and then, from that grounded place, genuine love for others that actually does them good.
Verse & Vision | May 22, 2026
The last fifteen years have been a lot. Cancer. Alzheimer’s. Caregiving. Loss after loss – the kind that moves in and stacks up until it pulls you under with it. And layered underneath all of that, my own mess. But He was before all of it. And in Him, somehow, all of it is holding together. Not in spite of the wreckage. Through it. Anything good you see in me is just God. It comes from being dragged by Him through the refiner’s fire, and Him giving my heart the strength to beat at all.
Presence, Not Passage: The Hours We Don’t See | Daily Bread
Everyone I know has said it at least once this year: “Where is the time going?” But I’ve been sitting with a different question lately. Not “where is the time going,” but “when did we stop paying attention to it?” Because I don’t think time is actually disappearing. I think we are.
The Quiet Vigil (A Personal Reflection)
It’s midnight. Someone I love is sleeping beside me, deeply and peacefully, completely unaware of the quiet watch taking place over her. Her name is Echo, and she is my eldest dog. Echo has terminal cancer, and it’s been progressing fairly quickly lately. Earlier tonight there was a small medical moment. It was nothing dramaticContinueContinue reading “The Quiet Vigil (A Personal Reflection)”
When the Yoke Breaks
In that day their burden will be lifted from your shoulders, their yoke from your neck; the yoke will be broken because you have grown so fat. (Isaiah 10:27) There’s a moment in every true spiritual journey when you realize that the burden didn’t disappear — you outgrew it. We talk a lot about GodContinueContinue reading “When the Yoke Breaks”
What Caregiving Is Really Like (Series): The Many Layers of Grief in Caregiving
Caregiving is a profound, sacred journey that takes us through various emotional, physical, and spiritual landscapes. Yet, one of the most complex and often misunderstood aspects of caregiving is the grief that caregivers experience. This grief is not just tied to the death of a loved one but begins long before that final loss. AndContinueContinue reading “What Caregiving Is Really Like (Series): The Many Layers of Grief in Caregiving”
What Caregiving Is Really Like (Series): Short-Term vs. Long-Term Caregiving — Two Different Worlds
Caregiving is not a one-size-fits-all experience. It takes many forms, shifts with time, and impacts people in wildly different ways depending on the duration, intensity, and emotional undercurrents involved. While most people have a general understanding of what it means to “be a caregiver,” very few grasp the depth of difference between short-term caregiving andContinueContinue reading “What Caregiving Is Really Like (Series): Short-Term vs. Long-Term Caregiving — Two Different Worlds”
What Caregiving Is Really Like (Series): The Truth No One Talks About
Caregiving is one of the hardest, most isolating experiences a person can go through—and yet, it’s often misunderstood, overlooked, or wrapped in a neat little bow for the sake of making it easier to talk about. This series is about breaking through that silence. It’s about telling the truth—the good, the bad, and the partsContinueContinue reading “What Caregiving Is Really Like (Series): The Truth No One Talks About”
When the Fight Feels Endless: On Relapse, Abuse, and Grief
Life has a way of testing us in unimaginable ways, often leaving us feeling broken, lost, and questioning the very point of it all. Whether you’re fighting to stay sober, wrestling with the shadows of abuse, or trying to make sense of grief that refuses to ease, these battles can feel insurmountable. If you’re here,ContinueContinue reading “When the Fight Feels Endless: On Relapse, Abuse, and Grief”
Solar Return 46: Threadbare Elegy
The profound nature of art and truth is that what’s meant to be about someone else often feels like it’s written just for us, holding a mirror to our own soul. That’s the gift of true connection—even the darker ones we share as souls. I think that’s part of what agape love truly is: notContinueContinue reading “Solar Return 46: Threadbare Elegy”
When Giving God the Glory Hurt Me—And Taught Me to Love Better
For a long time, I struggled with the phrase, “Give God the glory.” My mother used to say it constantly, especially during moments when I longed for her gratitude. As her full-time caregiver, I poured myself into serving her, yet she never thanked me—only God. It drove me crazy. Why couldn’t she see my efforts?ContinueContinue reading “When Giving God the Glory Hurt Me—And Taught Me to Love Better”
Learn from the Enlightenment My Pain Caused Me (Or How Pain Is the Enlightenment)
I wrote this post a year ago, but the words necessary to appropriately convey it took a lot longer to set in. I used to struggle with anxiety, especially around the holidays. Not the run-of-the-mill holiday stress—this was the kind of anxiety that wrapped itself around my chest, whispering, “Someone’s going to die. Something terribleContinueContinue reading “Learn from the Enlightenment My Pain Caused Me (Or How Pain Is the Enlightenment)”
From Pain to Purpose: How Faith, Integrity, and Gratitude Transformed My Trauma into Growth
What if the greatest tragedies of your life were actually the catalysts for your transformation? What if faith, honesty, and gratitude could take you from the depths of despair to a life filled with purpose and peace? I’ve lived through my fair share of pain—loss, caregiving, exhaustion, and moments of doubt so deep I almostContinueContinue reading “From Pain to Purpose: How Faith, Integrity, and Gratitude Transformed My Trauma into Growth”
Lay it down.
The Weight We Carry What are you holding onto, and why? Are you carrying the burden of proving your point to someone who isn’t even paying attention? Are you weighed down by grudges, betrayals, or the need to justify yourself? The truth is, holding onto these things doesn’t serve you. It hinders your growth, blocksContinueContinue reading “Lay it down.”
What Lies Beneath: The Truth About Loss, Resilience, and Freedom
As more death—I use that term from the perspective of energetic transition, whether physical, metaphorical, or societal—continues to challenge us all, I have been met with some interesting thought processes by those around me. There is a tendency, I’ve noticed, for people to cling to the idea of positivity, as though maintaining a relentless focusContinueContinue reading “What Lies Beneath: The Truth About Loss, Resilience, and Freedom”
Twin Tree Project 