“God gave us the gift of life; it is up to us to give ourselves the gift of living well.”—Voltaire For a violinist to make music, the strings on his instrument must be taut—but only to a degree. If they are too tight, they will snap. But if the strings are too loose, they will produce no sound. The proper amount of tension lies somewhere between the two extremes. It is like stress. Too much can be harmful. But what about no stress at all? While the prospect of no stress might sound appealing, you need pressure—at least to a degree. For instance, imagine crossing a street and suddenly noticing…

Indeed, you have heard this quote: “There are only four kinds of people in the world. Those who have been caregivers. Those who are currently caregivers. Those who will be caregivers, and those who will need a caregiver.”—Rosalyn Carter How true. Jenny, who nursed her 29-year-old husband for 18 months before he died of a brain tumor, said: “At times I wished I could escape from the situation. But he needed me more than ever. At times I felt very alone.” Loneliness, sadness, fear, grief, anger, guilt, and worry are some emotions that often bubble up when caring for an ill loved one. One cannot overstate the challenge of caregiving.…

“I love to see old women. I love wrinkles. I love gray hair.”—Alber Elbaz (Israeli fashion designer) Seven-year-old Erica jumped, skipped, twirled, and laughed as she stormed into her grandmother’s house. She had just returned from Disneyland with her mom, dad, and other grandparents, grandad Bill, and grandma Alice. “Did you have a good time?” her grandmother asked. “Yes!” exclaimed Erica. “What did you ride?” her grandmother wanted to know. “We rode Space Mountain, Mad Tea Party, California Screamin’, and a bunch of other things! But grandma Alice didn’t ride anything,” said Erica. “Well, why not?” asked her grandmother. “Because grandma Alice has gray hair!” squealed Erica. Yes, Erica thought…

Not long ago, I met a woman named Bea. Bea felt so negatively about her home situation and caring for her ill husband of 44 years that she admitted to despising her husband and being tempted to leave him to fend for himself. Thankfully, she never went through with it and decided to stay. But what was happening to Bea’s health and well-being in the meantime? Bea felt shattered and hopeless. Because Bea had prolonged feelings of helplessness, she was losing her self-confidence and feeling stressed. Bea also experienced headaches, stomachaches, and anxiousness. Bea felt sure she was approaching burnout as she had little energy and difficulty completing simple, everyday…

“Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrows. It empties today of its strength.”—Carrie Ten Boom Meet Rosemary: “My sixty-seven-year-old mother had a heart attack last month. Doctors said it was due to her smoking and high blood cholesterol levels. “However, I believe there were other contributing factors to my mother’s heart attack, such as not getting enough rest after Dad died, her poor eating habits—but particularly worry. “So, after my mother’s heart attack, I got a little parakeet and taught him to say, ‘Don’t worry, mommy. Be happy.’ I went on YouTube to watch a tutorial, and the process seemed to be working. “Anyone else who is out there…

“I have so much to do that I will spend the first three hours in prayer.”—Martin Luther As I write this article, the global COVID-19 Pandemic is raging. And it would be of no use to quote the number of infections and deaths because the numbers multiply each day worldwide. The COVID-19 Pandemic has increased stress levels for many of us. We face new challenges in our home and family lives, social distancing, employment, and for some, isolation and quarantine. Stress, anxiety, overwhelm, exhaustion—I believe it is safe to say that we’ve all experienced these emotions, especially during this difficult time. What Is Burnout? Herbert Freudenberger and other researchers took…