A couple of weeks ago, I took a vacation from blogging. At the time, it seemed like a reasonable decision — I work hard at blogging, and wanted some time for myself.

Looking back, I question whether such a self-indulgent course of action genuinely honored Christ. That point could probably be debated at some other time, and I tend to doubt that Scripture would exonerate me. Nevertheless, I took a the break, and I can’t undo the past.

But now I have another reason for wishing I hadn’t taken the break. For the next week and a half, my time will (hopefully) be taken up with interviewing prospective Personal Care Attendants. Our weekday morning PCA just had to give notice (her mom needs 24/7 care after suffering a stroke this morning). This lady has been with us for over twelve years, so her departure will be a major adjustment for us. Especially for me.

Yet I frequently blog about God’s sovereignty, don’t I? Well, now it’s my turn to remember that the Lord has brought about this circumstance for His glory and my good (Romans 8:28-29). I’m not looking forward to either interviewing or training a new worker, since typically it takes two or three cycles of adverting (it costs $45 to post a job opening on Craigslist), interviewing and training before we get the right person. But I need to trust that God is in control. It’s my turn to practice what I preach.

I’m asking you, dear readers, to pray for me and John, as well as for our PCA.Please pray for the Lord to provide the right lady to help. Pray that I will rest in God’s sovereignty, trusting Him to take care of me and John. Also pray for our PCA to receive Christ, remembering all she’s heard about Him through working here. Caring for her mom will be challenging, and I don’t know how she’ll do it without Jesus.

Here’s the ad we posted on Craigslist:

Our names are John and Deb. We have both been disabled since childhood, and need a female PCA to get us up weekday mornings. We also need her to cook and do laundry (she can do that in her own home). On average, it would be between 18 and 20 hours per week.

John does much of his dressing independently, but needs assistance with passive therapy and putting on his body jacket. He requires only light lifting to sit him up in the bed.

Deb is a total quadriplegic due to cerebral palsy. She uses a hoyer lift for transfer, and needs help with bathing, toileting, dressing, and grooming. She also needs to be fed breakfast. She uses her hoyer lift differently from the way most people use them, and she is not open to other ways of doing it — at age 66, she knows what works for her. She also has a speech defect, so she needs a PCA who is patient and able to learn her speech patterns.

We are a fun Christian couple, married for almost 18 years, who treat our PCAs like family. We do our best to provide a pleasant working environment.

The job starts February 24. Hours would begin at 7:45 am and go to about 10 am. Sometimes we would need the PCA to come earlier. The job pays $15/hr through the MassHealth PCA program