In this opening segment of Hope for the Caregiver, I take us to Matthew 9:9, where Jesus calls Matthew from his tax booth with two simple words: Follow me.

Matthew didn't leave a side job. He walked away from wealth, security, and the only system he had ever known. And unlike the fishermen who could return to their boats, Matthew had no way back. The moment he stood up, his old life was over.

I explore the historical reality behind that moment and why Matthew's decision mattered so deeply, then I turn the lens toward us as caregivers.

Because when a diagnosis comes, when an accident reshapes a family, when surgeries multiply and life changes permanently, something quietly closes behind us too. Caregivers don't return to life before the hospital room. There's no leave of absence from love. No tax booth waiting if we decide this is too hard.

Caregiving often feels like having the ships burned behind us. We didn't fully choose the road, and we rarely know what lies ahead. But like Matthew, we are called not into clarity, but into obedience.

In this episode, I talk about what it means to move forward when there is no going back, and how caregivers can discover purpose, faithfulness, and the presence of Christ in places we never expected to walk.

In this episode, I'm sharing a recent conversation I had on Truth Talk Live about adoption, special needs parenting, caregiving, and living out Christian faith when life becomes difficult.

My guest, pastor and author Andrew Hopper, joins me to discuss the theology of adoption and what happens when faith moves beyond the pulpit and into the daily realities of family life. We talk honestly about raising a child with special needs, the strain and growth that come through long-term caregiving, and how suffering shapes both marriages and children in ways most people never anticipate.

As a caregiver for more than four decades, these issues are deeply personal to me. Caregiving, chronic illness, and disability force us to wrestle with what we truly believe about God, suffering, and hope. Together, we explore whether today's churches are equipped to support families facing lifelong challenges rather than temporary crises, and why the Gospel must speak clearly into sustained hardship.

If you are caring for a loved one, navigating disability or chronic illness, supporting a special needs family member, or seeking encouragement as a Christian caregiver, this conversation offers practical insight and biblical perspective grounded in real experience.

Healthy caregivers make better caregivers.

Andrew Hopper Ministries |

Get Andrew's book: https://a.co/d/06JInWRA

On this episode of Hope for the Caregiver, I talk about something that has taken me forty years to learn: I'm not chasing happiness anymore. I'm chasing healthiness.

Happiness depends on what's happening. Good lab report? I'm happy. Insurance approves something without a fight? That's practically a revival service. But caregiving doesn't offer steady circumstances. If my stability depends on things going well, I won't last long.

Joy is different. Joy is anchored. Joy rests in the unchanging character of God. I can be sorrowful and still rejoicing. I can sit in a hospital room and still be steady.

I share a real-life conversation with a mother struggling with her alcoholic son and explain how asking one simple question — "Is this healthy?" — can bring clarity when "right or wrong" only creates confusion.

I also talk about physical health, financial health, and spiritual health. I say it often because I have to hear it myself: I'm no good to Gracie if I'm fat, broke, and miserable. Healthy caregivers make better caregivers.

And I close with one of my father's favorite hymns, Lead On, O King Eternal — a reminder that caregiving is not about swords loud clashing, but about deeds of love and mercy.

If you're weary, discouraged, or just tired of trying to feel better in a life that may not improve, this episode is for you. You may not feel happy, but you can be healthier.

And you can be anchored.