Healing the Wounds of Trauma

4. How can caregivers take care of themselves? ❂❂ DISCUSSION QUESTIONS 1. (Hold up a cleaver or kitchen knife and sharpening file.) What will happen to this knife if it is never sharpened? 2. Is the time it takes to sharpen it wasted or well-used? We are God’s instruments for good in the world. If instruments are not cared for, they will break down and lose their usefulness. Just as we must stop using a knife to clean and sharpen it, so we must stop and care for ourselves. Then we will be able to take care of others. Whenwe listen to people’s problems, we absorb some of their pain and carry it with us. When we listen to many people, the burden of all their pain can be very heavy, much heavier than any one of them bears individually. We have to be careful not to be crushed by it.

A. Let God care for you.

❂❂ SMALL GROUP EXERCISE 1. Read 1 Kings 19.3–8. What did God do for Elijah when he was tired and discouraged? 2. Read Mark 6.30–32. What did Jesus tell the disciples after they had finished ministering to many people? God has promised to comfort us, help us, and be strong for us when we are overwhelmed. He understands that we are weak. Even Jesus got tired and sad and felt troubled. The Bible gives us many examples of God’s servants who were so tired that they could not continue their

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Caring for the Caregiver