Caring for Elderly Parents with Grace and Honor

The first indication something was wrong with Jane’s father was after a situation she now calls the “splintering incident.”

He was 87 years old and had driven into the side of the garage. “His foot slipped off the brake,” her mother told her.

Jane and her husband Mike laughed it off. “After all,” they thought, “that kind of thing happens, right?” Only, the same thing happened just a couple of weeks later.

That was the beginning of a long season of tough decisions and rollercoaster emotions for Jane and her husband, Mike. Responsibility for an elderly parent’s care can drain both a couple’s time and financial resources. And the emotional strain of watching a parent’s life slowly come to an end can tax the strongest of relationships.

The Jane I’m referring to is actually my sister-in-law, Jane Daly. She and my brother Mike have done an outstanding job in caring for her parents.

That’s something Jean and I never experienced. Mike and I lost our parents long before either of us got married, and Jean’s mom and dad both passed away before it became necessary to address their caregiving needs.

Today we’re airing a conversation I had with Jane recently discussing some of the challenges she and Mike overcame.

Some of our listeners are facing the same circumstances. The roles between you and your parents are beginning to reverse. The responsibility for your elderly parents’ care is starting to land more and more on you. Not only are there practical, logistical decisions to be made, you hope to handle it with grace and a Christian attitude.

That can all be tough.

The anticipation of such dramatic life changes can lead to fear for both the parent and the child. There’s often a lot of grief for everyone to work through.

How do you address that grief? How do you have that hard conversation with your spouse and your parents about when it’s time for a parent to “give up the car keys” and all that that means? And what about end-of-life issues?

We’ll talk about all of that today on “Caregiving with Grace and Honor,” and we hope to encourage you with sound counsel and wisdom

You can hear our discussion on your local radio station, online, or listen at your convenience on our free phone app we have available for download.