The Caregiver's Beatitudes

By Robert Martin

Cancer. Stroke. Alzheimer's. These are just three in the list of too many diagnoses that cause the lives of the patient and their caregivers to tilt in the unexpected storm.

This put me in a role in which I don't think I really have ever excelled at. I'm the big strong daddy, the strong and determined husband. I'm the intellectual, the rational, the factual person. I'm the one who thrives on logic and reasonable, predictable progression. Emotions need to be subject to the mind. Me? Give compassionate, loving, gentle care to someone dealing with a serious illness? Don't make me laugh. And yet, that is where I found myself. My choice was reduced, then, not to whether I'd be a caregiver, but more what kind of caregiver I'd be. - Robert Martin

The Beatitudes from Christ's Sermon on the Mount are more than beautiful, even puzzling words. They can be your anchor when the waves roll and the winds howl.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Energion Publications
• Release date: Jul 10, 2014
• ISBN: 9781631990588

Robert Martin

Hi, readers, my name is Robert Martin, nickname “Donnie.” I grew up in Memphis, Tennessee. I’ve had a speech problem in my whole life. I am a stutterer. I left Memphis at the age of twenty and joined the U.S. Marines. After I got out of the marines, I moved to Atlanta, Georgia, and went to school for law enforcement. I left Atlanta and moved to Indianapolis, Indiana, to pursue a career in law enforcement. I worked in various prisons and juvenile systems. I’m a disabled veteran and attend the Church of Jesus in Indianapolis. I love to testify about the Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, and the life-changing events that He has used to impact my life. In Jesus name, Amen!

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The Caregiver’s Beatitudes

Robert Martin

Energion Publications

Gonzalez, FL

2014

Copyright © 2014, Robert Martin

Unless otherwise notated, all Scripture references are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Scripture notated AMP are taken from the Amplified® Bible, Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org)

Scripture notated The Message is taken from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

Cover Design: Henry Neufeld

Electronic ISBN: 978-1-63199-058-8

Print ISBNs:

ISBN10: 1-63199-056-X

ISBN13: 978-1-63199-057-8

Energion Publications

P. O. Box 841

Gonzalez, FL 32560

850-525-3916

energion.com

[e-mail]

Table of Contents

Introduction 2

Poor in Spirit 3

Mourning 7

Meekness 11

Hunger and Thirst 15

Mercy 19

Pure In Heart 23

Peacemaker 26

Put to Flight 30

Introduction

In the summer of 2012, my wife and I began a rather interesting journey together. And by interesting I mean the same sort of interesting that is implied in the ancient apocryphal Chinese curse May you live in interesting times. You see, my wife was diagnosed in July 2012 with (to use the medical, techno-geeky terminology) Type II invasive ductal carcinoma. For those of you less involved in the whole process, this is breast cancer.

This put me in a role which I don’t think I really have ever excelled at. I’m the big strong daddy, the strong and determined husband. I’m the intellectual, the rational, the factual person. I’m the one who thrives on logic and reasonable, predictable progression. Emotions need to be subject to the mind. Me? Give compassionate, loving, gentle care to someone dealing with a serious illness? Don’t make me laugh.

And yet, that is where I found myself. My choice was reduced, then, not to whether I’d be a caregiver, but more what kind of caregiver I’d be. This had been a serious wrestling point for me as it was entirely new territory and way beyond my comfort zone. I searched and sought for some sort of set of guiding principles of what this should look like for me. As an Anabaptist, I gravitated to the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7, as that, traditionally, has been the set of values for Anabaptists for centuries. The Beatitudes immediately stood out to me and I started meditating on them. The more I pondered them, the more I saw them as not just a general description of what members of the Kingdom of Heaven should be like, but how they could be applied to this role as a caregiver. I invite you, then, to walk along with me in exploring these little bits of truth and living with them as applications for being a caregiver. May this journey be a blessing to you.

1: Poor in Spirit

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:3)

First of all, this word blessed is rather unfortunately used in a lot of translations of the Bible. It really is not in common use today and, where it is, it usually means good fortune and