Usually my dad has me chop the meats in his Meals on Wheels lunches. It's harder for him to chop up the whole piece of meat, so he hasn't minded my assisting him until...
I served our dinners and had made BBQ chicken breasts for each of us. I immediately chopped up my dad's chicken, because cutting through a chicken breast, although boneless, can be somewhat difficult. I told my dad that we were having BBQ chicken and you could see he was looking forward to it by how quickly he headed for the table.
When he got there, he didn't want his chicken. At first it hurt my feelings. I had tried to make a special meal for all of us. Being prayerful about this, God let me know that delicious is in the eye of the beholder. The more I thought about this, having a chopped up heap of food probably wasn't all that appealing. Additionally, it may take away some of his dignity by chopping it without asking him. Normally, he doesn't mind, but this was with my husband and maybe it was embarrassing that I assumed that he needed help.
All these things streamed through my mind, so I developed a resolve to not chop up his food until he tells me he needs assistance. That didn't work as well as I thought, because it's somewhat embarrassing to have to ask for help, although it shouldn't be. I have since started cutting half of the meat and leaving the rest in tact, so that my dad can see what the meat looked like before the rest got chopped up. This has worked better. I am so blessed that God gives me insights as to things that might interfere with my dad's maintaining his self-respect while being cared for.
Since these are examples of how I've applied these Bible verses to my experience, they may not reflect the whole meaning of the verse.
I'm including You Tube Video clips on caregiving that I found interesting, inspirational, or might be helpful to others, but am not responsible for the content in the videos. Always check first with a physician before trying any suggestions mentioned.
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