Isolation, burnout, little to no professional resources, financial strain, lack of support: According to eFamilyCare.com, these are the five biggest challenges caregivers face.
Rising Above Ministries is a nonprofit that not only provides help to those with special needs; it also helps their caregivers in several of these areas.
One of Rising Above’s very popular events is “By the Brook,” an annual virtual retreat geared to help meet the spiritual and emotional needs of caregivers. It will be held June 23–24 this year.
“If you live this life, there is such isolation,” said Becky Davidson, co-founder and president of Rising Above. “There is such loneliness. So often you feel like no one sees you, no one gets your life. You’re exhausted from working, from trying to take care of your family, from trying to do all the things you have to do. Then on top of that, there are all of the things that surround your child’s disability.
“So many of our moms come to us weary and exhausted and worn out and feeling unloved and unseen. Our heart is for these moms to come together for this one weekend to know they are seen, they are loved, they are valued — that God has a plan and a purpose for them, for their child,” she said.
Branching out
Over time By the Brook has branched out to include any caregiver who needs to know she is seen and loved by God, not just moms of children with special needs.
“It’s (for) any unique need that your family faces. It can be mental illness. It can be chronic illness. It can be Down syndrome, autism. It can be ADD. It’s across the board,” Davidson said.
Often moms tell Davidson that their child’s disability isn’t as severe as her child’s. Davidson responds that the challenges each caregiver faces aren’t the same and that there aren’t levels of challenges. Every caregiver needs support, no matter the level of care.
Mental health issues coexist with many special needs. In addition, caregivers often develop mental health problems due to the ongoing trauma of caregiving. These women are welcome as well.
Points of access
The retreat is also a good time to bring loved ones who aren’t directly involved to give them “a glimpse into what [the caregivers’] lives are like,” Davidson said.
This virtual retreat has a ticket price of $10–$20 and several points of access. For those able to travel and who want in-person fellowship and support, there are host churches — 16 as of this writing — across the United States. Two are in Alabama — one at Central Church of Christ in Athens and one at Meadow Brook Baptist Church in Birmingham.
Another option is forming a small group and accessing the retreat in a home or similar location.
Since many caregivers can’t be away for two days, there is also an option to stream it directly to a person’s home.
The Friday night session, 6–9 p.m. CST, includes a virtual welcome followed by activities to get to know each other. Those streaming individually have a virtual equivalent.
On Saturday, 9 a.m.–3 p.m., there will be various sessions of teaching, time for reflection and journaling and more time to get to know the others attending.
Through the years since it began, many caregivers have been impacted greatly through the By the Brook retreat.
Finding community
“What I love is when you see a mom who comes in, weary and worn out,” Davidson said. “She comes in looking dejected and just beaten down on that Friday afternoon. Then you see her at the end of the event, and she’s smiling and has new friends and has community that maybe she didn’t have before.”
The support doesn’t end that Saturday evening. Rising Above has a multitude of other resources, including ongoing virtual support groups for men as well as women.
“I have moms literally from around the world who are part of my Wednesday group,” Davidson said. “You think you can’t have community online, but you can. We are good friends. These are some of my dearest friends, even though many of them I’ve never met.”
The group members don’t simply attend the group; they check on each other throughout the week. They often say that though they haven’t had friends in years, they now have friends who understand.
“This is life-changing. We’re seeing lives change before our eyes and it’s amazing,” she said.
“We want to give these moms who are in a battle daily caring for their children, so many times of high stress, literally life-or-death situations day in and day out — we want them to have an opportunity to come by the brook and to rest and be restored in God so they can go back into their own personal battles and care for their children,” Davidson said.
“This is open to anyone who needs to just be reminded that God loves them and sees them. Come on!”
Rising Above is still looking for host churches. To find out how to be a host church or to sign up for By the Brook, go to risingaboveministries.org/bythebrook . Explore the website at risingaboveministries.org to learn more about Rising Above as well as the numerous resources they offer, many of which are free — from journals and small group resources to merchandise to resources in Spanish and Arabic.
Share with others: