Fostering Hope and Connection for Disability Ministry Caregivers

When you think of the pillars that hold up our communities, do you picture the caregivers in the shadows, tirelessly laboring in love? That's where we turn the spotlight on Indispensable People, as I, Tracie Corll, unveil the silent triumphs and trials of those at the heart of disability ministry. This episode is a journey through the life of caregivers, examining the often-unseen emotional and physical toll they endure. We talk numbers, but we go beyond them, sharing stories and insights that bring to life the sacrifices made out of devotion. From the emotional fortitude it takes to navigate daily challenges, to the importance of creating church environments that embrace every family member, we highlight how essential caregivers are and how we can collectively ensure they're supported and celebrated.

Shifting the focus to the power of connections, we explore how the simple act of reaching out can be a beacon of hope for someone feeling the weight of isolation. It is here that the teachings of Jesus guide our conversation, as we map out how a church family can become the hands and feet of Christ, offering respite and understanding to those who give so much of themselves. Reflecting on the profound impact of genuine relationships within the church, we discuss real-life examples and offer actionable steps to foster a community where everyone is recognized for their unique contributions. Join us for an inspiring discussion on the importance of nurturing these connections, and how, together, we can make a lasting difference in the lives of caregivers and those they support.

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:03

Hi, my name is Tracy Corral, and welcome to Indispensable People. I'm a wife, mom, teacher, pastor and missionary, and I believe that every person should have the opportunity to know Christ, grow in Him and serve Him with the gifts that he has given, no matter their ability. Over 65 million Americans have a disability. That's 25% of the population. However, over 80% of them are not inside the walls of our church. Let's dive into those hard topics biblical foundations, perceptions and world-changing ideas. Hello and welcome to Indispensable People.

Speaker 1: 0:51

I am so glad that you've joined me today and I am ready to talk to you about a very forgotten group. In ministry, we serve the needs of individuals, but we also know that they are connected to families. So today we're going to talk about caregivers, and Rosalynn Carter says it this way there are only four kinds of people in the world those that have been caregivers, those that are caregivers, those that will be caregivers and those that need caregivers. So some way, somehow, everyone is either a caregiver or in need of a caregiver. So I want to share some statistics with you about caregivers that just might blow your mind. One in five Americans are caregivers. In 2020, caregivers spent an average of nine hours per week providing care, and in 2023, that's increased to 26 hours per week. Almost half spend 10 to 29 hours of their week devoted to caregiving and 27% spend more than 30 hours providing care. Spend more than 30 hours providing care. 22% of caregivers report that their health has actually gotten worse as a result of caregiving, because of emotional and physical stress.

Speaker 1: 2:16

Assisting a person as a caregiver may include things like personal care, such as dressing, toileting, hygiene, eating, walking, transferring, performing, nursing duties at home, administering multiple medications, identifying and coordinating services, which usually also includes advocacy. It says who is the largest service provider for sick or disabled adults. It's family members. Family members are typically caregivers and they are at a greater risk for high levels of hostility than non-caregivers. Spousal caregivers, who are at risk of clinical depression, are caring for a spouse with significant cognitive impairment and or physical needs, are more likely to engage in harmful behavior toward their loved one. Two things caregiver burnout may lead to anxiety or fear, and in addition to that is anger or frustration. So I just mentioned that family caregivers are the largest service providers. And here's a crazy number 2021, caregivers provided 36 billion hours of unpaid care, which is equivalent to $600 billion. The caregivers are literally priceless. They're overworked, underserved and left in isolation a lot of the times.

Speaker 1: 4:05

So what does that have to do with disability ministry? How does that impact what we do as the church? It has a big impact. First, we need to remember that if we do not provide the opportunity for our church to be accessible, open and value individuals with disabilities, church to be accessible, open and value individuals with disabilities, then it is likely that the entire family will miss out on having a church family. So we need to create accessible churches, and when I say accessible, I'm going to remind you that that includes not just a physical accessibility, but a social accessibility and a spiritual accessibility. And when we provide that, we have a bigger open opportunity for individuals with disabilities to attend our churches, to be included into the total life of the church. So from there, once their individual can attend which means the rest of their family can attend we need to be intentional about checking in and providing for any possible needs that may arise within that family. It's going to look like maybe a conversation is hard to have at times. However, we need to be intentional, have those conversations invest in that family drop off a meal, offer to help with chores, offer to help do just menial tasks or errands that they might need, or offer to spend some time with their loved one so that they can go do those things and get out and be a little bit freer in their experience. Within the church, you can offer some support groups or Bible studies for individuals or caregivers so that they have a free and safe place to share and talk about their experiences but also be pointed to the one who knows their situation, who has provided for them, who has made a way for them and gives them hope, so we can support them in so many different ways.

Speaker 1: 6:31

I have shared with you my personal experience with having COVID and being on a ventilator and coming home on oxygen and my family having to care for me in ways that had never been needed before. My husband had to dress me, shower me. I couldn't walk up our stairs to get to the kitchen. There were so many things that my family had to do for me and at the beginning they were all in. They helped in incredible ways and they looked out for me. They were concerned for me and they wanted to do their absolute best to care for me.

Speaker 1: 7:10

But as time went on, the frustration grew. They wanted to be done with the responsibilities of caring for me, and I saw that more in my kids than I did my husband, but you could see it was a weight that was on them and that they weren't sure necessarily. You know what this looked like long term. How long were they going to have to deal with this? There's so many questions that were unanswered for them any questions that were unanswered for them but let me just say that there was something that provided so much encouragement for them that made all the difference, and that was our church family. Our church family rallied around my family. They checked in on them. They made purposeful things so the kids could get out and go have fun. Or you know, someone came and dropped ice cream off for them. They took care of meals for a couple of weeks at a time and they were intentional of having conversations and asking how they were doing and chatting with them about things that had nothing to do with me to bring a bit of distraction.

Speaker 1: 8:29

And I had asked my kids after that experience. You know God doesn't waste anything and what's something that he showed you through this time and all three of my kids really felt strongly that God was showing them that people cared. My kids really felt strongly that God was showing them, that people cared, that they weren't alone and that their church family was really behind them and encouraging them and lifting them up, and that made a humongous difference. And I'm telling you, it is simple things that you would do for your next door neighbor or your friend or anything that you see or feel around you Dropping off a gift card, not even asking, but just saying, hey, I'm going to drop off a meal today, I have some leftover, this, this or that. Or dropping off some cookies, picking up their individual and saying, hey, I'd love to take them out tonight. Or staying at home and inviting them over to your house.

Speaker 1: 9:35

There are so many things that we can just do which just comes along with having relationship. And that is what when we care for them. It's not just an idea of a service or, you know, like a paid employment thing. It's literally family. It is literally becoming a part of something, together in the family of God. And that changes everything because you can have a paid caregiver. You could pay someone to come in their house and help them out and take care of them and do their housekeeping and lawn service and all that other kind of stuff, and those things are possibilities that you could provide for them.

Speaker 1: 10:31

But what will make the difference in everything is the relationship that you build, because you have reached out, because you care, because you want to build relationship which leads to a loving and saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. That makes a difference. Why? Because we get to walk around like where Jesus was skin on and there is no greater thing that we can do than to show Jesus through our lives, through our kindness, through our generosity, through our compassion, through our care to other people that bring to light the God that we serve. We want to show that and remember, through the isolation and the hard work and the tiring and the burnout that they may experience, that you know what?

Speaker 1: 11:28

Sometimes they're going to feel a little porcupine-ish.

Speaker 1: 11:31

You know they may not be the happiest person on the block, but you get to be that person to reach out and to love them anyway and to support them anyway, to give them what they need, regardless of how they act or how they treat you, and remembering that God asks us to do things for people who can't return that same thing to us, because it's not about us, it's about him.

Speaker 1: 11:58

So let's make sure that we're not forgetting our caregivers, let's make sure we're reaching out, that we are loving on others and that we are making sure they're not isolated and alone, and to make sure that they know that they are loved by the God who created them, who is fully aware of their story and has provided a family to surround them and love them with his love. Do I know everything about disability ministry? Do I have all the answers? Have I done everything perfectly? I have absolutely not, but we are going to continue this conversation so that people of all abilities can have the opportunity to know Christ, grow in Him and serve Him with the gifts that he has given them. Thank you.