Testimony of Healing March 15, 2004 Issue

Prayer gives care to the caregiver

Malcolm Jackson

In April 2000, after being nursed in hospitals for several years, my wife decided that she would like to return home. At that point, I became her sole caregiver. Because my wife's movement was severely restricted, I had to do everything for her, including lifting her to and from a wheelchair many times each day, and turning her in her bed at least four times during the night.

After a while, a number of relatives and friends became concerned for my welfare. Some even insisted that I would develop back problems and suffer from having my sleep disrupted every night. I felt sure, however, that prayer would support me in continuing to take care of my wife.

In praying for myself as a fulltime caregiver, I thought about how Jesus said to love one's neighbour as oneself (see Matt. 22:39). I believed that I was showing love for my wife by caring for her physical needs, and that there was no reason to expect to suffer as a result of showing love. I also found comfort and assurance in these words from Science and Health: "The spiritual demand, quelling the material, supplies energy and endurance surpassing all other aids, and forestalls the penalty which our beliefs would attach to our best deeds." And this statement in the following paragraph was especially helpful: "Whatever it is your duty to do, you can do without harm to yourself" (p. 385).

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