By LeAnn Thieman

I am in awe of caregivers.

You see, one of my missions in life is to remind people to truly live their priorities. Yet it seems too many give lip service to one thing and say it’s their priority but spend their time doing something else.

That’s why I am in awe of caregivers. More than any other people I’ve ever known, you truly live your priorities.

Some of you give up careers to be caregivers. Others do not, and valiantly strive to balance both. Many move a parent into their home, or move in with them. Others equip a family room with wheelchairs and beds to give around-the-clock care. Your “shift” doesn’t end.

I watch caregivers give and give—but also see how they get and get. You find gifts in the giving—qualities in yourself you maybe didn’t know you had—courage, wisdom, strength.

One woman found a gift she shared in Chicken Soup for the Caregiver’s Soul. Lulu’s mom had been deaf all her life, even with a hearing aid. As a little girl, Lulu always wished they could whisper secrets like other girls and their moms. When Lulu’s mom grew terminally ill, she moved in to care for her. On her last days, her mother wanted  desperately to get out of bed, so Lulu stood her mom’s feet on her feet and walked her around the room. Hugging her mama to her, she hummed songs from church then softly said, “Soon mama, you’ll be walking on streets of gold.” “Yes, Lulu,” Mama sighed. “Soon I’ll be on streets of gold.” Her mama heard her! They didn’t have to wait to get to heaven to whisper secrets. Had Lulu not been her caregiver, she—and Mama—would have missed that moment.

As you give and give, and get and get, still sometimes your role feels overwhelming, I know. The need is so great most days and you can never get it all done. You feel like as much as you give, it isn’t enough—it’s never enough. Yet remember, that everything you do makes a difference. No effort is too small. Everything you do matters more than you know.

There was a sign above a burn unit in Vietnam during the war, where an American plastic surgeon set up a clinic to help the burned and disfigured children. The sign above the doorway read “It’s better to light a single candle than to curse the darkness.” And that’s what you do every day—you light your single candles. And when you light yours, you inspire others to light theirs and they inspire others. You literally set the world aglow with your caring.

Mother Theresa said it best. “I cannot do great things; I can only do small things with great love.”

That, dear caregivers, is what you do every day.

That’s why we dedicated Chicken Soup for the Caregiver’s Soul to you. The dedication reads: To caregivers, who, by their benevolent acts of kindness, single-handedly ease the suffering in the world.

Thank you for living your priorities, being the role models we all need, a light to the world, and inspiration to us all.

I am in awe of you.

LeAnn Thieman

LeAnn Thieman is a certified speaking professional, author and nurse. She is co-author of Chicken Soup for the Caregiver’s Soul, as well as Chicken Soup for the Nurses Soul, Chicken Soup for the Christian Woman’s Soul, Chicken Soup for the Father and Daughter Soul and Chicken Soup for the Grandma’s Soul. To learn more about her books and presentations contact 877-THIEMAN or www.LeAnnThieman.com.