Proceed with Caution

Photo courtesy Erik Thorson 2013

Do not boast about tomorrow,

For you do not know what a day may bring forth.

Proverbs 27:1 NASB 

The last two weeks have been a reminder to never take anything for granted. Although we're full time caregivers, we have been at it a long time-nearly sixteen years. In that time, we've developed a pretty good system for taking care of our duties for the day.

When Kevin first got injured in 1997, we didn't do anything else but take of him all day and night. But as he improved and we got more used to our job, life got easier. Except for the increasingly rare times he is sick, things run pretty smoothly around here.

Until last week.

Kevin was getting up for the day as usual. Each day he walks with assistance to and from his wheelchair. Last week he stood to walk to his chair and suddenly buckled.

We were caught off guard but quickly sat him back on the bed. In the process, he injured his arm and back slightly. There was little pain but a lot of back spasms, making getting up by himself nearly impossible.

For the last week and a half, we have been working with new ways to help him get into and out of his wheelchair and negotiate through the days. It's been a time-consuming process and a frustrating situation for all of us, and especially for Kevin. Thankfully, he appears to be healing nicely and is better each day.

Until this happened, we had fallen into a routine and perhaps a false sense of security. Recently we have been busier and busier outside the home. This was a bit of a wake-up call to take care in making other commitments. Our job here comes first.

We never know what God has in store for us. Every day is His. It's important to be flexible and yielding to His right to change our plans.

The people who build our highways know the road and have signs to direct us. When the road is marked with double yellow lines, it indicates some caution is required. We can't pass everyone and sail on. In the same way, God marks the journey for us in order to keep us safe and headed in the right direction.

Sometimes we make great progress. Other times it's a slow and winding drive. Losing patience won't help us get there any faster. There are no shortcuts. The only way to get to our goal safely is to follow the signs and proceed with caution.