WEARY
My Grandmother was a founding member of her church choir. And that is where I first became familiar with the word “weary.” It came up a lot in the spiritual hymns.
And to be honest, the word “weary” wasn’t really apparent anywhere else in my world ever—from Childhood until now. Now, I am a Caregiver, and I have a new understanding of the word.
I always thought of “weary” as one of those combo words like “Frenemy.” Frenemy is a word whose origin can be traced back to 1891, used by Walter Winchell in his gossip columns in the 1950’s and made popular by social media by the year 2000. Hence, the world knows the definition of the word which combines friend and enemy into one.
Until now, I honestly wasn’t all that concerned with the actual meaning of the word “weary” which I felt somehow combines worry with tears.
Weary was not a common phrase in college, not a corporate buzz word and until these days, it wasn’t a word that I would use in a sentence.
Today, I am the WEARY Caregiver.
According to Miriam-Webster’s dictionary “Weary” is an adjective meaning exhausted in strength, endurance, vigor or freshness. While synonyms for the word definitely describe my feelings as a Caregiver.
Other words for “weary” include Tired, Exhausted, Drained, Worn, Fatigued, Burnt-out, Wiped-out, Debilitated, Run-down and Lethargic. That’s me—I am weary!!!
It is no wonder that the word is most frequently used in Bible verses and Spiritual songs.
And it appears in the Bible in both the Old and New Testaments and is also in the Torah. There are 3 Hebrew words identifying “weary” describing a state of being physically, spiritually or mentally exhausted.
Familiar Bible verses mentioning being Weary:
“But those who wait on the Lord
Shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary…”
Isaiah 40:30-31a
“Come to me all ye who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest”
Mathew 11:28
You may notice that the common theme when the word “weary” is used in the Bible is that God is the One who can give you Strength and Rest from Weary.
I am a Caregiver.
I am physically exhausted by all of the tasks involved in Caregiving. My head hurts and my body aches from pains neither Tylenol nor Advil can cure.
I am mentally exhausted trying to manage everything in my Mom’s world at the expense of my own.
I am spiritually exhausted because my Spirit, my Spunk, my Drive, my Chutzpah has been squelched by Caregiving.
I am a Weary Caregiver.
BUT…
I have Faith in GOD…
And so, I Pray…
JORDAN ST. CRY – “WEARY TRAVELER”
https://youtu.be/io8GX4zMemg?si=2SyZg7r07aSh0mNw
A CAREGIVER’S CONSCIENCE PODCAST – “A CAREGIVER’S PRAYERS”
https://youtu.be/dSYgardh_ME?si=XtV1uyyip7bQqMgT
A CAREGIVER’S CONSCIENCE – THE BLOG
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