Pray service: A prayer for caregivers

Health Progress, Mar/Apr 2003

Leader O God, come to our assistance.

All O Lord, make haste to help us.

Leader Glory to You, Source of all being, Eternal Word, and Holy Spirit.

All As it was in the beginning is now and will be forever. Amen.

PSALM 121

Leader (Refrain) To you, 0 Lord, I have lifted up my eyes. To you, O Lord, I have lifted up my soul.1

All (Repeat refrain after each verse.)

Side 1 I lift up my eyes to the mountains; from where shall come my help?

My help shall come from the Lord who made the heavens and the earth.

All To you, O Lord, I have lifted up my eyes.

To you, O Lord, I have lifted up my soul.

Side 2 The Lord is your guard and your shade, forever by your side.

By day the sun shall not smile you nor the moon in the night.

All To you, O Lord, I have lifted up my eyes.

To you, O Lord, I have lifted my soul.

Side 1 The Lord ever watches over you, the guardian of your soul.

The Lord will guard your coming and your going now and forever.

All To you, O Lord, I have lifted up my eyes.

To you, O Lord, I have lifted up my soul.

READING

Caregiving demands lots of physical and emotional energy. It is frequently hard, draining work. We don(t have an unlimited supply of energy, and so we must figure out what the source of replenishment is for each of us. The principle of burnout is that more energy goes out from a system than comes into it. Do we think about the ways our energy is replenished and build them into our life? The Psalmist spoke of "lifting our eyes to the mountains" to find help. Are we built up again through time in the mountains, meditation, relaxation, outdoor activity, reading, exercise, prayer, creative expression, or a combination of many opportunities?

(Joan Guntzelman, Prayers for Caregivers, St. Mary's Press, Tempe, AZ, 1995, P. 140.)

FOR REFLECTION OR SHARING

1. Do I have a source of replenishment for my energy ?

2. How do I experience "lifting [my] our eyes to the mountains?"

3. What seems to work for me?

Leader Let us pray.

All Dear God, when I spend myself without replenishment, I wind up being no help to anyone. I know what nourishes and refreshes me. Thank you for these gifts, and may I turn to them readily. I recognize that I have far more to offer when I am vibrant and full of life than when I am burned out. Praise to you, my God. Amen.