Oasis of Hope • Burden Bearing • Chronic Joy®

OASIS OF HOPE – BURDEN BEARING

This edition of Oasis of Hope is all about Burden-Bearing – as a caregiver, in the valleys of despair and depression, in the midst of pain, walking beside a friend of loved one who is struggling, and as we learn to lean into gratitude in our long, hard seasons.

“Pain can be a pivot point,” writes Cindee Snider Re in The Gift of Pain (A Poem), “a place where the veil thins and we discover the inexplicable kinship of suffering and joy. For we cannot savor joy until we have first drunk deep His cup of suffering.”

Shelly Esser explores the beautiful “ministry of burden-bearing,” the importance of simply being present with another in their pain.

In The Ups and Downs of Caregiving, Susan E. Butcher writes about caregiver burnout and includes helpful warning signs.

Terry Powell asks the difficult, but important question, “Are you willing to do the hard thing for the sake of those who would be heartbroken over your passing, and for the sake of future ministry God may have for you?” in How Can You Tell When Someone Is Suicidal? Terry knows firsthand “that dawn follows the night, that sorrow doesn’t last forever, that God enables and uses a person even when He doesn’t remove all depressive episodes.

And in A Harvest of Grains, Cindee Snider Re, invites you to lean into intentional gratitude, for it “plants the seeds that in God’s perfect timing will emerge from our long dark seasons into spring’s lengthening light, growing strong in summer’s heat, and ripening into an abundant harvest of maturity.”

“Praise the Lord, who carries our burdens day after day; he is the God who saves us.” Psalm 68:19 GNT

IN THIS ISSUE

In this issue of Oasis of Hope, we explore the ministry of burden-bearing and how to plant the life-giving seeds of intentional gratitude.

Burden Bearing by Shelly Esser
The Ups and Downs of Caregiving by Susan E. Butcher
How Can You Tell When Someone Is Suicidal? by Terry Powell
A Harvest of Grains – Poetry Prompt by Cindee Snider Re
The Gift of Pain • (A Poem) by Cindee Snider Re

We pray these words meet you where you are, but do not leave you there, that they draw you just a little deeper into our burden-bearing Lord. May we always have eyes to see and ears to hear.

Carry each other’s burdens - Galatians 6:2

Burden-Bearing

Taking up the ministry of burden-bearing and inviting ourselves into the sacred places of their pain and sorrow helps them to carry the load.

Sympathy and Awareness
Be Present with Another Person in Pain
The Ministry of Burden-Bearing

#AudioBlog 💿

Love seeks one thing only: the good of the one loved.

The Ups and Downs of Caregiving

Burnout is a big problem for caregivers. Here are a few things to remember as you go through the highs and lows of caregiving:

Attend to my own health.
Evaluate my own heart.
Remember that caregiving is a sacrifice.

#AudioBlog 💿

Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him.

How Can You Tell When Someone Is Suicidal?

To help prevent suicide, watch for: depression, bi-polar, suicidal thoughts, isolation, risky behavior, weapons, worsening health, giving away possessions. Here are a few of the nine warning signs:

Suicidal talk
Declining health
Internet searches

#AudioBlog 💿

A single grain reminds us to notice, pause and pay close attention.

A Harvest of Grains • A Poetry Prompt

Gratitude – a poetry prompt – Collect the moments. Play with line breaks, sounds, the rhythm of the words. Dance. Breathe. Sing. Write. Pray.

#AudioBlog💿

The Gift of Pain (Poem)

Pain can be a pivot point, a place where the veil thins and we discover the inexplicable kinship of suffering and joy.

#AudioBlog💿

Prayer Pond

You're invited to the Prayer Pond, a place where you can share your prayer requests, updates, and shouts of praise. Whether a request, praise, lament, suffering, loss, hope, grief, or joy, each prayer ripples with radical hope and compassionate change.

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Notecards, Postcards & More

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Encourage and inspire others by putting #PenToPaper with one (or more!) of our creative notecard or postcard collections. How about tucking one of our professionally printed guides in the envelope?

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