Don't Take this On Your Next Vacation

This is Peter Rosenberg and I'm so glad that you're listening to this podcast. If you're finding it meaningful, I want to ask you for two things. Would you mind sharing it with someone?

Would you mind telling somebody you know who is struggling as a caregiver about this program and what it can mean for them? We have over 800 episodes, more than 250,000 downloads. The need is massive. I can't do it on my own.

I'm still a full-time caregiver. But I'm putting it out there as best as I can. And I can use your help in sharing it with others. The other thing is, would you consider helping support what we do? If you like what you're hearing, if you're finding it insightful, if you're finding it encouraging, please help us do it more.

We can't do it alone. We ask that you help us. Staydewithhope.com slash giving. This program for you as a family caregiver, so glad that you are with me today. How are you holding up? How are you feeling?

What's going on with you? That is the purpose of this program is to talk to family caregivers. I speak fluent caregiver. After about four decades of this, you'd think I'd learned the language. And I have. But the better news is it's our Savior's native tongue.

That's who He is. And that is our great hope, which is why I titled this program Hope for the Caregiver. Hopeforthecaregiver.com.

Hopeforthecaregiver.com. If you want to see more, all the stuff's at our website. We'd love to have you check it out. It's vacation season, by the way. Did you know that people are going on vacations and we live in a primo vacation spot. We have a lot of tourists that come out here this time of year. We are 90 miles north of West Yellowstone, Montana. That is the west entrance and the closest entrance to Old Faithful.

And so we get a lot of people that come this way. If you go to West Yellowstone and then you go into the park, it takes you into Wyoming and then you are about 30 miles from Old Faithful. That is, again, the premier thing that people go to see at Yellowstone. But there's a lot more to Yellowstone.

Gracie and I have been to Yellowstone many times and we've only been to just a fraction of the park. There's so much to see there. It's a beautiful place and if you do come out this way, I think you ought to go see it. There's more to this part of the country than that, but it is spectacular down there. I like going in the wintertime.

There's less people in the wintertime. In the summertime, the traffic can be just insane. And when somebody sees some form of wildlife, buffalo, whatever, everybody stops to take a picture of it and the traffic's backed up for miles and it becomes a bit challenging and cumbersome. Then they want to get close to these things and take them. They're not tame animals. We call them assault cows.

Bison are called assault cows out here. We have a name for tourists that try to pet buffalo or put their hands in the geyser basins in what we call the paint pots and all these other geysers. So many geysers there at Yellowstone and people want to touch the water which is scalding hot and they end up getting hurt or they try to get in.

You wouldn't believe the stupid stuff people do. The locals here call them tourons. They're tourist morons. There's a whole web page dedicated to this of Yellowstone idiots, of people who try to do things at Yellowstone that they shouldn't do and they get hurt. But it's a fabulous place out here. We love it. As people go on vacation, I'm reminded of this chapter from my book.

It's called A Minute for Caregivers When Every Day Feels Like Monday. And I wrote these one minute chapters and this is one that talks about this and it's don't take this on your next vacation. So I'm going to share this particular chapter with you. While a change of scenery can ease the heartache and struggles of our lives, it's pointless if we pack our resentments and bitterness for the trip. Yellowstone Park is one of the most beautiful places in the world yet despite its pristine and soul-stirring beauty, visitors still bring their drama to the faraway fields of bison and old faithful. A sad set of statistics for the world's first national park is the number of drunk drivers and domestic abuse cases handled yearly. Park rangers will affirm that people pack their strife with them. Misery's jurisdiction doesn't end at any park's borders. It's hard to imagine saving up all year long and going to the trouble of traveling so far only to end up standing in front of one of the federal judges in the park.

They have jurisdiction over that and that's the majority of the cases. Domestic abuse and drunk driving. While tempted to express disapproval for those arrested for such things in Yellowstone Park, how is it any different from many caregivers who think a change of scenery or circumstances can serve as an antidote for discord? You know, think about that with us. We think, well, if we just didn't have this, if we could just see this, if we could just get out of this, or if we could go here, then we could be happy. But sadly, we carry our misery with us.

That's the bad news. But the good news is, if misery can be carried, it can also be put down. There is no vacation destination that will cure bitterness.

The spectacular cannot accomplish what we refuse to implement. We can better appreciate the beauty in different locations once we choose to experience them in our current situation. And columnist Doug Larson wrote, the world is full of people looking for spectacular happiness while they snub contentment. And that's something I want to drill down in today's program of learning to be content and resting.

What does that look like? Because we somehow think we've got to have these exotic things that will make us feel better. But everything I've seen in scripture says that I can be content where I am, no matter what's going on around me.

There are many in this world who think that we need to somehow create a utopia on this planet, a heaven on earth. But that's not our job to do this. That's God's job to do that.

That falls under his jurisdiction. So think about that for us as caregivers. Are we just enduring and saying, OK, if we could just get to the beach or if we could just go to the lake or if we could just go to this park that we can be settled and happy and whatever. And then think about all those people that show up at Yellowstone and they get into these terrible altercations with their spouses or whatever with kids.

Or they're drinking while driving and then to the point where I mean, they're in Yellowstone and they're driving drunk. And it's heartbreaking to see that. But that's the human condition. We pack our misery in.

But you know what? You can leave it. You could you could put it down. You don't have to be miserable right now. If you're feeling that way, if you're feeling just like, oh, if I could just get away from this, then I can be at peace.

I got news for you. You can be at peace in it. It's not easy. It takes work, takes discipline.

There's not a magic switch for this. It's just a simple matter of you're going to take God at his word. Isaiah 26 3 says that will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee because he trusts in you. I mean, do we believe this or not? Peace I leave with you, Jesus said in John 14, my peace I give to you, not as the world gives do I give to you, but let not your hearts be troubled, let them not be afraid. Romans 8 6, for to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. And so I ask you, I asked myself this, do we believe this?

Is this something that is guiding us? It's great to take a vacation, and I hope you get to take one. We're going to talk about that a little bit today because I don't, I don't get many vacations. As caregivers, that's just not really something we can do very easily. But there are all kinds of ways to have a bit of a respite, maybe not the way we'd like, but don't think for one moment that going out to the beach or to a national park or, you know, going out on a sailboat or anything like that is going to settle your heart greater than you can be settled right now by concentrating on the things of God. Okay, it's really important that we understand that as caregivers, because if we're pining away for something, when we get there, if we haven't checked our misery and put it down, we're not going to be any different than these people at Yellowstone to get arrested for domestic abuse and drunk driving and other things that go on there. In Yellowstone Park, one of the most beautiful places in the world, and yet people pack their misery in there with them.

Let's don't do that as caregivers. We do not have to be doomed to misery. Okay, pain is unavoidable in this life. But misery is a choice. Contentment is a choice. Joy is a choice.

And it's like that quote from Doug Larson in that chapter I wrote for my book. The world is full of people looking for spectacular happiness while they snub contentment. As caregivers, let's don't snub contentment.

Let's learn that first and then see how we are when we go to the spectacular. This is Peter Rosenberger. This is Hope for the Caregiver. Hopeforthecaregiver.com. Welcome back to Hope for the Caregiver.

This is Peter Rosenberger. This is the program for you as a family caregiver. Hopeforthecaregiver.com.

Hopeforthecaregiver.com if you want to know more information. By the way, the sage is a blooming here, and it is a bit challenging, so if you hear a little different sound of my voice, it's only because I am fighting a bit of allergy. Still not what I was used to in Nashville. When everything was blooming, we had a nice lovely coat of yellow over everything during pollen season. Now we just have snow until the first of June here in Montana, but it's a bit challenging right now, so I apologize for the tone of my voice, but I will do the best I can to muddle through. Some years ago, a pastor friend of mine, Larry, just a great guy, had been a huge friend and mentor and pastor to me for a long time, and he said, you need a Sabbath rest. In the last block, we talked about vacation and people going on vacation, taking their misery with them and all that kind of stuff. I want to stay with that theme, a little bit of vacation and rest, and I pondered that, and I asked him, I said, well, what does that look like?

He said, well, that's what we've got to figure out for you, and I have thought about that a lot. What does rest look like to somebody like me? What does rest look like to somebody like you? Now, for those of you who are new to the program, I've been a caregiver now for four decades, and I also run my own business. So if I take a break from my business, I'm still a full-time caregiver. If I take a break from being a caregiver, I still have to run my business. So it can be a bit challenging, and I have people that can help me with Gracie sometimes. I mean, like if I go out and speak, which I love to do, and if you want me to come speak at an event of yours, I would love to come do it. I love doing that kind of thing. It's very meaningful for me to be able to do that, but I have to make arrangements for somebody to stay with Gracie because I can't leave her by herself. When we lived in Nashville, a lot of times I could do day trips to places and be back that evening, that kind of thing.

It wasn't that big of a deal, but when you're living in Montana, the Pony Express and the Stagecoach, you know, it gets a bit more challenging. And so, you know, I have to make arrangements. But even then, if I'm speaking somewhere, I'm still working, technically.

Now, let me be frank with you, or Sammy or Dean or any of the other Rat Pack. When I speak, that's oxygen for me. And in fact, I get, you know, my speaker's bureau would do follow up and say, you know, tell us how Peter did and do we need to thrash him or flog him. And no, I've always gotten very good reviews on all my stuff, and I'm grateful to say. But one particular review stuck out with me, just like when Peter is on stage, he's breathing in pure oxygen.

And you can just see he's just so energized and excited. You've heard me talk about Standing With Hope over the years. This is the prosthetic limb ministry that Gracie envisioned after losing both of her legs. Part of that outreach is our prosthetic limb recycling program. Did you know that prosthetic limbs can be recycled?

No kidding. There is a correctional facility in Arizona that helps us recycle prosthetic limbs. And this facility is run by a group out of Nashville called CoreCivic. We met them over 11 years ago, and they stepped in to help us with this recycling program of taking prostheses and you disassemble them. You take the knee, the foot, the pylon, the tube clamps, the adapters, the screws, the liners, the prosthetic socks, all these things we can reuse, and inmates help us do it. Before CoreCivic came along, I was sitting on the floor at our house or out in the garage when we lived in Nashville, and I had tools everywhere, limbs everywhere, and feet, boxes of them and so forth.

And I was doing all this myself, and I'd make the kids help me, and it got to be too much for me. And so I was very grateful that CoreCivic stepped up and said, Look, we are always looking for faith-based programs that are interesting and that give inmates a sense of satisfaction, and we'd love to be a part of this. And that's what they're doing. And you can see more about that at StandingWithHope.com slash recycle. So please help us get the word out that we do recycle prosthetic limbs. We do arms as well, but the majority of amputations are lower limb.

And that's where the focus of Standing With Hope is. That's where Gracie's life is with her lower limb prostheses. And she's used some of her own limbs in this outreach that she's recycled. Obviously, she's been an amputee for over 30 years. So you go through a lot of legs and parts and other types of materials, and you can reuse prosthetic socks and liners if they're in good shape. All of this helps give the gift that keeps on walking, and it goes to this prison in Arizona where it's such an extraordinary ministry.

Think with that. We have inmates volunteering for this. They want to do it, and they've had amazing times with it, and I've had very moving conversations with the inmates that work in this program. And you can see, again, all of that at StandingWithHope.com slash recycle. They're putting together a big shipment right now for us to ship over. We do this pretty regularly throughout the year as inventory rises, and they need it badly in Ghana. So please go out to StandingWithHope.com slash recycle and get the word out and help us do more. If you want to offset some of the shipping, you can always go to the giving page and be a part of what we're doing there.

We're purchasing material in Ghana that they have to use that can't be recycled. We're shipping over stuff that can be, and we're doing all of this to lift others up and to point them to Christ. And that's the whole purpose of everything that we do, and that is why Gracie and I continue to be standing with hope. StandingWithHope.com.