Sleep Ain't Rest

Welcome to Hope for the Caregiver here on American Family Radio.

This is Peter Rosenberger. This is the show for you as a family caregiver. 65 million Americans right now are doing this, putting themselves between a vulnerable loved one and even worse, disaster. They're taking care of an aging parent. They're taking care of a special needs child. They're taking care of somebody who's dealt with trauma, mental illness, addiction, alcoholism, name it. There's always some kind of impairment and there's always some kind of caregiver. And it may be from a distance, maybe up close, maybe 24 seven, but you're still showing up caring for someone who has some type of chronic impairment and you're doing this without pay, often without any kind of training and often on reserve because we are running out of our own resources and we're straining over that. How do you help a caregiver?

What does that look like? How do you help someone stay strong while they take care of someone who is not? And that's what this show is all about. And we're glad that you're with us. 888-589-8840, 888-589-8840 and I'm going to talk about several things. We've got a lot of things to talk about today. Several things, uh, as you journey in your, uh, path of, of caring for someone. And I wanted to talk about, uh, your resources, your depletion, your heart, your stamina. How is that going for you?

How do you feel about that? What's going on with you? What do you do to, to gain strength?

How do you pace yourself? And these are things we're going to talk about today. Uh, I've got a hymn that I want to do. And this, this actually has two different musical versions. It's an older text that, um, many, many people are familiar with. And then it was the, the, there was a new tune written to it. So I'm gonna do both of them today and see if you know this, this is going to apply to what we're talking about today.

And if you know this, 888-589-8840. And also I'd like to hear, why is this important to you? Why is this song? I mean, we know a lot of hymns. We've, we've sung them in the church and so forth. Our parents sung them, but why is this important to you? I do this every week and try to introduce or reintroduce a particular hymn that has meant something to multiple generations and show how it can apply to us right now in our caregiving journey so that we have something that kind of sticks in our brain throughout the day when it gets pretty rough. You don't have time to go back in and recall the complete works of Francis Schaeffer when you're in a caregiving crisis. You don't have time sometimes to recall all the sermons that you've heard over the years or whatever, but sometimes you can just remember the first line of a hymn and it re-anchors you.

It helps you focus more in the midst of whatever you're dealing with. And this is, this has been my experience. This has been my journey with it. And I think it would be extremely helpful to my fellow caregivers to do that. So here's the, I'm going over to the caregiver keyboard here. I think I'll do the first, the older version first.

And my glasses, well, nevermind. Yesterday was my birthday and I'm one year older and I'm feeling it. So this is my first show in the new year of my life. And I'm trying to think, see how far this hymnal looks away from me here. Here we go.

Ready? This is, this is the older version of it. Now that's the older version. And then it was, that new tune was composed back in the 90s, I think. And they took that same lyric and they went to use this tune. Does that sound familiar? Do you know that tune? And the chorus.

All right. And that's going to apply to us. And in our journey as caregivers, this tune, I find myself saying this over and over and over, uh, throughout days that get a little bit stressful and days that are a bit gnarly. And so we go back to sometimes people who came way before us and what did they do? In the book of Hebrews, it says, remember those who spoke the word of the Lord to you when appropriate, imitate their faith. And we are so blessed to have so many people who came before us, who took the time to write down their faith in a way that we could easily remember. And that's what these hymns do for us. This is what the book of Psalms does for us. This is what scripture does for us.

When you have these songs, they burst forth in songs. And after, um, what did Jesus do after the last supper? They went out to the garden of Gethsemane and as they did that, they did what? They said they were singing Psalms.

They were singing. Jesus knew what was coming and he was singing. And if that is what helped prepare Jesus in that, imagine for us. So these are things that I want us to think about as caregivers in our journey on, on what are we doing here? What would we, are we just flailing around or are we able to anchor ourselves in greater truths that will, will calm us down in the midst of this, that will settle our spirits down.

And that's what this hymn is all about. I was thinking about the other day, by the way, I was, uh, Gracie and I went to, um, just a little update. We went to Denver to meet with a surgeon. Uh, we were facing a, you know, significant surgery with her.

And some of you have heard me allude to this. 20 years ago, um, she had disc that blew out in her back and they fused her back. Uh, and the way they did it back then, they kind of pitched her a little bit forward and that's the way they did it 20, 20 years ago. And over the years, her back is compensated for that fusion and she's developed what they call flat back syndrome in the upper part of the thoracic area of her back has lost its curvature.

So she just kept keeps leaning over and leaning over and it's, it causes a great deal of pain and it's very difficult for her to function and walk and so forth. And we've done as much as we can do with prosthetics, um, with her prosthetic legs to compensate for that. And so it was time to escalate it. We've been, we've known this was coming for some time, but she wasn't physically up for it.

And we've gone through kind of a whole series of things and it turns out that, you know, we, it's time. Uh, and we met with a neurosurgeon and it was a, a good visit. Um, I asked questions that I think that, um, you as a caregivers would, would understand those kinds of questions. Uh, one of them I said to the surgeon, I look, can this surgery be done on her? And then the second question is, should this surgery be done on her?

Those are important questions to ask. And the surgeon affirmatively said yes and yes. Um, does it mean it's not going to come without challenges and risk and difficult things? But I said, yeah. So we're putting that together now.

And if, if once this happens, Gracie has the opportunity with a successful surgery to stand up straight for the first time in many, many, many years. So, um, that's kind of what's been going on with us this week. And I'm going to talk about a life lesson I learned on the way back from that trip to Denver when we come back from the break. This is Peter Rosenberger 888-589-8840.

If you know that song that I played a minute ago, 888-589-8840. Do you see, do you see all the people sinking down? Don't you care?

Don't you care? Are you gonna let them drown? How can you be so numb not to care if they come?

You close your eyes and pretend the job's done. Welcome back to Hope for the Caregiver. This is Peter Rosenberger.

This is the show for you as a family caregiver. And that is Keith Green. We lost him 39 years ago this past week on the 28th of July.

And, uh, what, and I think it was the 20th of July. And, um, it was, uh, he was, he was only 28 years old. And what a life he lived in those 28 years.

What a legacy he left for us. Do you see, do you see? There's a line in that, uh, the church, um, is the world is dying in the dark and the church rolled up because they're asleep in the light. Let's don't be asleep in the light. Let's be aggressive in going out and ministering to these folks who are hurting and lost and broken and weary and worn. And, uh, that is, that's a great call to action from, uh, from Keith Green. 888-589-8840, 888-589-8840 if you want to be a part of the show. And if you know our song, this one may be a little bit tougher.

Sometimes I give you guys easy ones. Um, but this one, once you hear the title of this, and once you, once you get this into your heart and your mind and your ears, then, and my hope and prayer is that as you go through the day, you'll remember this title and you will and you will understand how important it is for you as a caregiver. And I played the course of over at the caregiver keyboard here and there was an older version. There's an older version that was done, uh, the original version. That's the newer, um, melody and music that was written for it. But the, the older, the standard version you'll hear in the hymnal is. And so that's the older version, but this is, if you know this, this is one I think a lot of people are more familiar with. Now, uh, I have to put my hymnal down. So if you know that 888-589-8840, 888-589-8840, I was coming back from the airport and I looked at the gas gauge as I was leaving the airport and, uh, Gracie and I were, we have a, it's about almost 60 miles to get home from the airport where we live in Montana.

And, uh, when we lived in Nashville for low those many years, we lived there for 35 years. Um, you know, it was just a quick jaunt to the airport, but out here it's a, it's a commitment to go to the airport. And I thought, ah, I need to get some gas and Gracie's tired.

And she said, nah, it'd be all right. You can do that. You can do that.

My wife is very optimistic about things like that. And, um, so I, I went ahead, it gets my better judgment. Uh, but because once you get outside the, the area of their proper near Bozeman, where we fly in, you know, the, to the drive to the house, it's not like there's a gas station on every corner. You got to go through places where there's no cell service and there's nothing. There's no minute you're driving by the river, you're in the canyon and you're like, ah, you know, and, and I, but the car was running just fine and everything was fine.

We're riding along and da, da, da, da, da, da, da. But I got to thinking about it. The gas gauge said that I was getting close to empty and I didn't make it. Gracie was right.

I will say that on the air. I didn't make it. Um, and I did get back to town eventually and, and fill up, but people that I don't know, people that I don't know, built that gas gauge. A company filled with people that I don't know, designed this car to communicate information to me, objectively from me, that, that, that, that I looked down and I can trust that they did what they said they were going to do.

And although the car seemed like it was running just fine, it was heading towards empty. And you know, I was in, I still had a ways to go and I put myself in a needless concern. I should have got ahead and gotten gas, but I, I, I thought about that as caregivers. Do we do that? Do we have objective measurements telling us that we are running out of gas and we'll just punch through it and take a chance that we'll get there okay. And do those kinds of things. Does that, does that resonate with any of you all? Is that something that you found yourself doing, uh, is, is going all the way to the limit?

I've done that so many times myself, and I realized there are objective things around us that we can count on that are advising us. It's time to, to tank up. It's time to rest. It's time to fill up our hearts.

You know, we can look at our own behavior that way sometimes, and it's important to cultivate relationships and friends and people that ask us. We can look at this. We can look at, um, the scales. Are we gaining weight? We can look at our irritability.

We can look at, there's a lot of different signs that we can, if we'll pay attention that something's wrong and we need to pull over and tank up. And that's why I did this song this morning, because I think it's going to resonate and I'm going to go to Becky in Texas. Becky, good morning. How are you feeling? Good morning. I'm feeling great. Um, do you, do you know the song?

Yes. The minute you played it, it's the song I was singing to my husband when he passed. Um, Jesus, I am resting. I love that song.

My husband. Were you doing the, the older version or, or this, the newer version? I know both. I know both the him and the modern version. I believe Steve green sang it. Um, maybe some other artists who've done it, but, um, we were playing several different songs on the day he passed. He was at MDI, MD Anderson in Houston. He had myelofibrosis, which is a very rare form of leukemia.

And, um, he had had a stem cell transplant, but he got graft versus host disease. And so, um, it just kind of took him down. It was in the gut. And we were, we were there for six weeks, the last six weeks of his life. And, um, the day before I had prayed and he had been throwing up blood and that was just a very, um, uh, very difficult time at the last, uh, the last two days, but the very last day, I'm sorry, the last three days, but the very last day I had prayed that morning as I said, God, please, um, take him, you know, let him be with you today and please don't let me be alone. And, um, his family gathered that day.

I, you know, I had a couple of days before that had just said, please, you know, y'all, uh, I didn't want them seeing him like that, but that day I said, y'all can come and talk to him, whatever. And they had finally gotten him sort of, you know, in palliative care to where he was, um, able to just rest. And that song came to me at six o'clock on a Sunday night and I just started singing it. And his, his breath just started going, going down to about three seconds, um, a beat or whatever. And, uh, and anyway, his niece was there with me and his sister was there with me and his sister was praying that she could be with him when he passed. And so I wasn't alone and they, they got their prayer answered too, that they got to be with him. And it was beautiful. It was, um, 24 hours before that, he, he opened his eyes and waved like a little kid on Christmas morning. And I knew he wasn't seeing us.

I knew he was, I knew he was seeing heaven and it was just a beautiful, beautiful, uh, experience. So you were, you were singing this hymn to him as he, as he passed away? Yes, sir. And you were saying, were you singing the modern version of the older version? Yes, the modern. Which one? The modern?

Steve Green. Um, you know, it's a real, it's a real privilege to play that for you, Becky, because I know that for the rest of your life, that tune will be incredibly meaningful to you. Amen. Amen.

Every time I hear it. You know, I, I don't play weddings anymore. Uh, if I can help it, I have a firm policy against playing weddings because there's just so much drama at weddings and I just, I hate it and I won't, I just won't do it unless they, I charge an outrageous amount of money if I'm going to play a wedding or something, because I just don't want to do it, but I will play for funerals upon request if I can make it.

And I never asked for anything in return because I feel like that is my, um, that is my opportunity to just care for families who are at, I think often at their most vulnerable and I want to be very careful with that. And so when I think of you singing that to your husband as he steps into the arms of Jesus, um, there is no greater, for me as a pianist, there is no greater privilege, uh, to play for people who, who are in that place. And it is a privilege to play that for you this morning, Becky, and to know that every time I play that now, we're going to do this tomorrow at church, uh, serve as a music minister of a church out here in Montana, uh, against my better judgment. They, they hired me and I told them, I said, God bless y'all for y'all's lack of judgment.

And, uh, they, uh, they, they wanted me to do it, uh, despite me. And, uh, but I'm going to do this this morning, uh, tomorrow morning, uh, because I love this hymn and I love what they did with it. Um, and because I think it, I love the old version too.

I remember singing it as a kid, Jesus, I am resting, resting, but it's, it's a little bit, it's a little bit more, um, it doesn't feel very restful when you sing the old version, does it? And this one right here, yeah, it just feels like a warm blanket around you, doesn't it? It is. It really is.

Yeah. And, and, and do you, one of the things that I, I am almost just banging this drum on is these, on these hymns is because just the title alone of this hymn, Jesus, I am resting, resting speaks volumes to us as caregivers in the midst of our stuff. You know what, Becky, we got to go to a break. Can you hang on through the next segment? Actually, I'm on my way downtown Houston to a food pantry. Well, then you got to go. That's the first time I've had a caller. I wanted to stay on it.

They couldn't do it. Becky. Well, that's okay. You touched my heart this morning. Thank you very much for that.

This is Peter Rosenberg. This is Hope for the Caregiver. And every time I play this song now, Becky, I'm going to be thinking about you and your family. And I really do appreciate that. 888-589-8840. If you know this tune, it's important to you. Give us a call.

We're going to talk a little bit more about resting when we come back. Welcome back to Hope for the Caregiver. This is Peter Rosenberg.

This is the show for you as a family caregiver. That is Gary Chapman, one of my all-time favorite songs. And Gary's been on the show a couple of times and has shared his journey that is often filled, has been filled with great pain and sorrow and loss and difficult things.

And he's been very candid about it. But I remember when he wrote that, when I first heard that song almost 40 years ago, and he's written, he's one of my favorite songwriters. And he's written songs that are, you know, part of now our soundtrack of our life. I mean, Tennessee Christmas, Father's Eyes, and Finally, which was a number one hit for him.

But this one right here. I love that song. I just truly love this song.

There's a treasure at the end of this narrow road I'm traveling. This show, we do a lot of music on the show because I think music, Hans Christian Anderson said, when words fail, music speaks. And those of you who are regular listeners know that I mean, music is a huge part of my life. I've been playing the piano since I was five years old. And I started playing, picking out stuff by ear. And my parents helped save and it cost them for me to take lessons. And they invested in that with me.

And I think that they listen, you know, listen each week on the show on Alexa and hope they're enjoying the fruit of what they invested in. And I love to play for them. And I love these hymns.

I'll never forget. And there's a reason I do all these things with the hymns. When I was a little boy, my mother held the hymnal in front of me. And I couldn't see the words because I couldn't read, but I could make out the lines and the shapes of the notes.

I didn't know necessarily what they meant, but I could see those. And I was fascinated by this written piece of music, this printed music on the page of this thing. And that's what, and then there was a piano there. My dad was a pastor at the church and there was a piano over there to the side and I would go over there and plunk out tunes.

And I'm sure I caused a few people to stick their fingers in their ears because I was just a little kid hitting that piano, but I never stopped playing. And both of our sons play. My oldest son has three children.

He's teaching his children to play. I've got pictures of their little hands at the piano. And it's been a huge part of my life. And these hymns of the church, great, great songs written, most of them out of very difficult things are sustaining to me.

And I hope they will be to you as a caregiver. So the song today was Jesus, I am resting, resting. And, you know, I mean, I grew up here and like a lot of you did the older version of it, but when this newer version came out, um, that was written by, um, David Hampton and in it, there's just something about it that just wraps its arms around you and the difference for us as caregivers.

And by the way, if that means something to you, if this song means something to you, or if you have another one that is similar to it, feel free to give us a call 888-589-8840, 888-589-8840. But I, sometimes when it, when it gets so gnarly for us as caregivers, and it's hard to think straight and you know that you're grinding your teeth or, or you're just so frustrated, simply recalling the first line of some of these hymns can reorient your thinking. Jesus, I am resting, resting. Jesus, I am resting, resting. And, and, and by the way, sleep and rest are two different things.

We can sleep. We can get a lot of sleep, but that doesn't mean we're resting. What does it mean to rest? How do you rest? What does rest look like to you?

I mean, just because you're getting eight hours of sleep at night doesn't mean you're resting. Jesus, I am resting, resting in the joy of what thou art. I am finding out the greatness of thy loving heart. Thou has bid me gaze upon thee and thy beauty fills my soul. For by thy transforming power, thou has made me whole.

There's no mention of sleep there. There's no mention of, hey, everything in my life is going great and now I can be okay. There is just simply the, the wonder and the joy of being in the presence of Jesus, of the transforming work that, that has happened in our lives. Oh, how great thy loving kindness, vaster broader than the sea.

Oh, how marvelous thy goodness lavished all on me. Do you understand that word lavished all on me is still applicable when you're sitting in a neurosurgeon's office, discussing your wife's 81st surgery that I can count. And as we sit there, we met with this surgeon, this little tiny room, and I looked around this room.

This is, this is in Denver. And, and I thought about all the different doctor's offices I've been to. They all start kind of looking alike after a while. Gracie's been treated by more than a hundred different doctors. And now this will be her 14th hospital.

And I think about all the exam rooms she's been in and, and all the, the, the different, I mean, just, it just kind of goes into a blur. But in that moment, oh, how marvelous thy goodness lavished all on me. Those words were applicable even in that place. And as we prepare for this surgery for her, those words are still applicable. There is a greater truth that anchors us so that when we're faced with long quarters going back into surgery, or as Becky called and inspired all of us, we all want to, Sherry's producing the show and she said to my headphones, I wanted to keep Becky on longer.

I think everybody wanted to keep Becky on longer because she's singing Jesus, I am resting, resting to her husband as he's dying. And in that moment, the lavishness of God's goodness was, was still present even more so. But it's so hard for us in this culture of ours, we get so wrapped up and thinking, oh, okay, we're going to get our breakthrough and, and, and we're going to feel good about this. And then we'll be able to praise God. No, we praise God right now.

We do it right now. If you go back and look at Paul and Silas in the book of Acts, well, they were in prison and it says around midnight. And they'd been beaten that day. They were chained up in a prison.

And it's not like prisons like we have here in America. And he said, they were singing hymns. I, you know, I don't, I don't sing a lot of hymns at midnight.

I don't know about you guys, but I don't do that. And you know, and these guys had been beaten and were in prison doing it. Jesus was on his way to Gethsemane and he was singing hymns after he just washed his disciples feet. And he knew that Judas was going to betray him.

He knew what was coming and he was singing hymns. Oh, how marvelous, my goodness, lavished all on me. See, this is the problem. When you, when you hear these guys on television, these preachers and so forth do this thing and they say, we're going to get, you're going to get your breakthrough and this, this, and they get into this whole abundant thinking and all that. God bless them. That's great.

God bless you. But there's a greater truth. We've already had our breakthrough. He has already lavished goodness on us. And while we may endure seasons in this life, or maybe a lifetime of hardship, we can rejoice even as we are sorrowful as Corinthians says. We understand that this broken world is filled with all kinds of, of very difficult things.

Martin Luther said this, this world with devils filled, but he who began a good work in you is faithful to complete it to the day of Christ Jesus. Yes, I rest in thee, beloved. Know what wealth of grace is thy, know thy certainty of promise and have made it mine.

Jesus, I am resting in this, not sleeping, resting. And that gives us the confidence then to sing these hymns to our loved ones, like Becky did as he passed away. That gives the confidence to sit in a doctor's office and hear what's getting ready to happen. To know that however painful it is, we can rest in his goodness. Simply trusting the Lord Jesus, I behold thee as thou art and thy love so pure, so changeless satisfies my heart.

Jesus, I am resting, resting. This is, this is what we, this is why these hymns are so important to us because it cuts through sometimes all of these hymns, all of these hymns, all of these hymns. It cuts through sometimes all the other noise in our life and settles our spirits down. And if there's one thing that a caregiver needs, it's a settled heart.

That's what separates this show from any other show out there addressing the needs of family caregivers. Because if our heart is a train wreck, guess what? Our caregiving will be, will reflect that it will be a train wreck as well. If our heart is a train wreck, our bodies will be, our relationships will be, our jobs will be. It's only a matter of time. And I've got 35 years into this, so I have a little bit of credibility in saying it's only a matter of time before it all comes off the rails.

You may be able to do this for a couple of months, a couple of years, but you can't do this for a couple of decades without understanding this greater truth. Joanne in Arkansas. Joanne, good morning. How are you feeling?

Good morning. Can you hear me okay? I can hear you just fine, Joanne. You knew this hymn too, didn't you?

Yes, I love this hymn. I heard it. First of all, I had heard it on Haven Today, the radio show, and then I looked it up. And then another time after that, I found it in the Robert J. Morgan book, Then Sings My Soul.

I was just looking at that just now when you were talking about the XO word. I just talked to Rob. He's a friend of mine from Nashville and been on the show a time or two, and he's got a new book coming out.

And so he'll be joining us here in the next couple of weeks or so, weeks or months. Wonderful, wonderful man. Wonderful man. We went to the same Bible college together. He's a wonderful man.

Oh, that's neat. Tell me why this song is important to you, Joanne. Well, hang on. Hang on through the break, okay? I hear the official theme song of the Peter Rosenberger show here. I wrote that theme song, by the way, with my friend Chris Latham, and it's telling me I got to go to a break. We got a hard break here. Joanne, can you hang on through the break? Yes.

Okay, great. This is Peter Rosenberger. This is Hope for the Caregiver 888-589-8840. 888-589-8840. If you want to be a part of the show, you can go out to Hopeforthecaregiver.com as well.

There's a lot of stuff out there for you, and we will be right back. Hey, this is Peter Rosenberger. Have you ever helped somebody walk for the first time? I've had that privilege many times through our organization, Standing with Hope, when my wife Gracie gave up both of her legs following this horrible wreck that she had as a teenager. And she tried to save them for years, and it just wouldn't work out. And finally, she relinquished them and thought, wow, this is it. I mean, I don't have any legs anymore.

What can God do with that? And then she had this vision for using prosthetic limbs as a means of sharing the gospel, to put legs on her fellow amputees. And that's what we've been doing now since 2005 with Standing with Hope. We work in the West African country of Ghana, and you can be a part of that through supplies, through supporting team members, through supporting the work that we're doing over there.

You could designate a limb. There's all kinds of ways that you could be a part of giving the gift that keeps on walking at standingwithhope.com. Would you take a moment to go out to standingwithhope.com and see how you can give?

They go walking and leaping and praising God. You can be a part of that at standingwithhope.com. Welcome back to Hope for the Caregiver. This is Peter Rosenberger.

This is the show for you as a family caregiver. That's Gracie my little wife with West Half. And that is an anthem for her. The joy of the Lord is her strength. That's how she does it. And this is how she endures and does the things that she does. And then she faces a difficult journey ahead of us, both of us, over the next couple of months. This song will continue to be important to her as well. The joy of the Lord is her strength. If you want to find out more about Gracie, go out to hopeforthecaregiver.com.

If you want a copy for CD or whatever, it's all the instructions are out there. Just go out and take a look. Hopeforthecaregiver.com. Check out our podcast. From what I understand, we have the largest podcast for family caregivers in the world. And so take a look and share it with folks that you know are hurting. If you don't know what to say to a caregiver, don't worry about it. I do. And you can share that with them right there from the website, hopeforthecaregiver.com.

We're talking with Becky in Arkansas. Becky, so you first heard this song, you looked it up, and tell me why this song means so much to you. Well, the words are, like you were saying before I started, the words are just so glorious. It's just such a personal message about Jesus.

And the fact that during the pandemic, when I was home a lot, I'm an older person and live alone, and I couldn't get out. And this was one of the things that I felt like Jesus just put in my lap, you know, I would listen to this song every day for a while. And the words just were a bomb to my heart, you know, it was just, it was just so beautiful, you know, that the love of Jesus and the, you know, what we get from just being with Him.

And, you know, it just has been so, so special to me. You know, that sparks of thought with me, because I think just what we get from being with Him, being in His presence. And if you if you, if you come at it from that viewpoint, then you start seeing things in Scripture that reinforce that. It makes sense then, you know, when Mary was sitting there at Jesus' feet and Martha got all upset, you know, hey, what about me?

I'm in here cooking and slaving them, which I identify with Martha a lot, because, you know, I'm the chief cooking bottle washer around here. And Jesus said, nah, you're getting this wrong. Just, just be, just be. And that's very hard for me as a caregiver.

That's hard for, I think, for a lot of folks, but just being with Him. When Thomas finally got it, when Jesus appeared to him after the resurrection and Thomas had been doubting, he said, look, I'm not going to believe it till I touch his hands and side, you know, I'm not going to, I'm not going to believe this. And when he did, he fell down on his knees, you know, my Lord and my God. And he wasn't thinking about anything else other than just the awesome presence of, of Christ.

And, you know, I, I, I love that. Ever lift thy face upon me as I work and wait for thee. Resting neath thy smile, Lord Jesus.

Earth's dark shadows flee. Brightness of my Father's glory. Sunshine of my Father's face. Keep me ever trusting, resting.

Fill me with thy grace. And, and, you know, that takes on a different meaning when you're a caregiver and you're dealing with all the craziness and yet you're still willing yourself to understand this truth and it settles your spirit down. And I just love that. Now, do you, did you know the first musical version of this or did you get introduced to this on just on the, the newer version? No, from listening to your program earlier, it's the newer version, which I would have thought was the older version, but no, yeah, the newer version is the one that I've heard. Well, and I, and I liked the older version, but, but it is a little bit clunky. I mean, that's, it's nice. And I, I mean, I would probably dress it up a little bit, even if I played that version.

You know, and you could, you could smooth it out, but this newer version, sorry, I'm just throwing the handle down on the sofa here, but this newer version though, is just. I mean, that just, oh, that just, you just kind of like, oh, you know, I mean, it's just such a beautiful melody, such a beautiful arrangement of it. So I, I just love it. And, uh, I appreciate the fact that you knew it as well. And I think that it's, um, as we go through the day and as caregivers, particularly, we're going to be faced with difficult things. We're going to be faced with the temptation to, uh, spout off, to say something, to be angry, to be frustrated, to be bitter, to be resentful, all those kinds of things that happen in our journey as part of the human condition. But we, as caregivers, you know, get ample opportunity to experience those things. And I'm hoping that if you do nothing else, just remember the title of this tune. Jesus, I am resting, resting, not sleeping, resting, and there is a difference.

And so Joanne, I do appreciate you calling and sharing this with you. Are you getting out more now? Yes. Good. What do you got what do you got planned for today?

Uh, not exactly sure. Um, I might have my neighbor over for lunch. Indeed. Well, tell, tell your neighbor about this song, about this hymn. And, uh, and, and, uh, that is, that's a great thing. Well, thank you so much for calling and thank you for, for knowing this hymn and sharing your thoughts with us. Again, this is why we do these particular hymns, because you're going to go through things today as a caregiver, just as a human being.

You don't even have to be a caregiver and you'll go through things that are going to want to hook you. And I'm asking you to reorient your mind and just remember this tune. Jesus, I am resting, resting.

And if you could just hum that a couple of times and you'll find that it'll stick with you. Sleep and rest are two different things. Resting is knowing that this is not mine to fix. I didn't do this. I didn't cause this to Gracie and I can't fix it. And I can rest that she has a Savior and I'm not that Savior.

You know, I look down at my hands periodically and I have never seen nail prints. And that assures me that this is not mine to fix. I'm a steward here and I, I'm caring for, but I can rest knowing that she has a Savior and I'm not that Savior. What about you? What about you? Look down at your hands.

Do you see nail prints? I bet you don't. That means it's not yours to fix. And that your loved one has a Savior. You're not that Savior. You're not that Savior. You do not have the power to change this, but you do have it in you because of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. You do have it in you. Like our caller from Texas this morning, Becky, to sing Jesus, I am resting, resting at a deathbed. That you can do.

That you can do. And you can sing songs like this during moments of great heartache and strife and disappointment and loss and grief and pain. I've watched Gracie many, many times sing through the pain. And I don't think she'd mind me telling you, but my friend Johnny Erikson Tada has to get up many times in the middle of the night. She wakes up in pain and she can't move.

She's paralyzed. And she'll sing these hymns. And sometimes I'll text her a hymn that I'm going to talk about on the show and say, oh, I love that hymn. And she said, I'm putting that into the list tonight when I know that I'm going to wake up in pain. She knows she's going to wake up in pain. She knows she's going to wake up in pain. And she knows that Ken has to help her to get comfortable so that she can get back to sleep. And so she sings these hymns. I've gone into our bedroom or a hospital room and I see Gracie knowing she's in pain. And she's singing to herself, Jesus, Jesus, how I trust him, how I've proven over and over.

Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus. And then she'll add, oh, for Gracie to trust him more. Now, between the two of them, Johnny and Gracie, yesterday was the 54th anniversary of Johnny's accident.

This fall will be the 38th anniversary of Gracie's. You know, that's 90 years, 92 years of disability and suffering between these two women. And they're going back to these hymns. And that's what gets them through the dark night of the soul.

If I can co-opt Watchman Nee's title there, that's what gets them through that. What gets you through this? What gets you through this? What sustains you in this? What causes you to rest in the midst of sorrow and pain and grief and loss? What are you doing? Can you remember this particular hymn today, knowing that sleep and rest are two different things?

You may be getting sleep, but are you resting? And by the way, I need you to repeat this back to me. I'm still a caregiver.

And I need to hear these things too. I have caregiver amnesia. I have gospel amnesia. I need to hear these things over and over, sing them over and over again, wonderful words of life.

I need to hear it over and over. But today, for today, as you look at the world that's going on around you, you look at what's happened. By the way, if you watch the news for any moment, you're going to need to sing this hymn. If you listen to what's coming out of Washington, the absolute nut jobs that are running this country, you're going to have to have something greater than these folks to anchor your soul. Jesus, I am resting, resting. That is our call.

That is our anthem. In the joy of what thou art, I am finding out the greatness of thy loving heart. No matter what you see on the news, what variant of COVID there is, none of that can compare to the grace and the redemptive work of our Savior. This is hope for the caregiver. This is Peter Rosenberg. This is the show for you as a family caregiver.

Healthy caregivers make better caregivers, and it starts with resting. We'll see you next week. Some of you know the remarkable story of Peter's wife, Gracie. And recently, Peter talked to Gracie about all the wonderful things that have emerged from her difficult journey. Take a listen. Gracie, when you envisioned doing a prosthetic limb outreach, did you ever think that inmates would help you do that?

Not in a million years. When you go to the facility run by Core Civic, and you see the faces of these inmates that are working on prosthetic limbs that you have helped collect from all over the country that you put out the plea for, and they're disassembling, you see all these legs, like what you have, your own prosthetic legs. And arms.

And arms. When you see all this, what does that do to you? Makes me cry, because I see the smiles on their faces. And I know, I know what it is to be locked someplace where you can't get out without somebody else allowing you to get out.

Of course, being in the hospital so much and so long. These men are so glad that they get to be doing, as one band said, something good finally with my hands. Did you know before you became an amputee that parts of prosthetic limbs could be recycled? No, I had no idea. You know, I thought of peg leg. I thought of wooden legs. I never thought of titanium and carbon legs and flex feet and sea legs and all that.

I never thought about that. As you watch these inmates participate in something like this, knowing that they're helping other people now walk, they're providing the means for these supplies to get over there, what does that do to you, just on a heart level? I wish I could explain to the world what I see in there. And I wish that I could be able to go and say, this guy right here, he needs to go to Africa with us. I never not feel that way. Every time, you know, you always make me have to leave, I don't want to leave them. I feel like I'm at home.

With them. And I feel like that we have a common bond that I would have never expected that only God could put together. Now that you've had an experience with it, what do you think of the faith based programs that CoreCivic offers? I think they're just absolutely awesome. And I think every prison out there should have faith based programs like this because the return rate of the men that are involved in this particular faith based program and other ones like it, but I know about this one, is just an amazingly low rate compared to those who don't have them. And I think that that says so much. That doesn't have anything to do with me. It just has something to do with God using somebody broken to help other broken people. If people want to donate a used prosthetic limbs, whether from a loved one who passed away or, you know, somebody who outgrew them, you've donated some of your own for them to do. How do they do that? Please go to standingwithhope.com please go to standingwithhope.com slash recycle standingwithhope.com slash recycle. Thanks, Gracie.