Watching someone you love live with chronic illness can be difficult. At times, this can feel totally overwhelming. The needs of someone with chronic pain can be demanding with little solutions for relief. Let’s take a look at how to love someone with chronic pain.
You can love someone when you live in the love that God has shown us. This type of love is called in the Greek, agape love. It is a sacrifical love like what Jesus did on the cross for us. Living with someone in chronic pain you practice this agape love.
We are see in 1 John 4:15-21 about this love.
Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.
In these verses it tells us that as a believer in Christ God is love. Whoever lives in realtionship with Him is also filled with that love. We love because God first loved us. Honestly, this scripture applies to all of our realtionships on this earth. We see it clearly as we love someone with chronic illness.
Once you establish this sacrifical love for your relationship then you can more easily accept the situation.
Accepting the chronic illenss then you are more willing to be able to care for them. This acceptance breaks down any walls that might be build up in the realtionship over this pain that causes the patient to be overwhelmed, negative, and distant.
You may have lived with your loved one for years before their chronic pain emerges so you have to make changes to accept their new way of life. The sooner you can engage in acceptance the less fracture in your relaltionship.
The key successfully transition from acceptance is communicataion.
A proactive approach to communication with your loved one in chronic pain makes for a healthier relationship. When you ask questions to better understand what the patient is going through then you unlock another door to the agape love in 1 John. The open discussion of “how can I help you?” or “how does this symptom make you feel today?” allows the paitent to be honest in a safe and loving enviornment.
The last step for how to love someone with chronic illness is to take care of yourself.
When mentally healthy then you will prepare to love your neighbor like we see in Matthew 22:36-39.
Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
Loving yourself it means that you take care of yourself . I discuss it here for the chronically ill, but it also can apply to the caregiver. This self care helps you can better take care of your loved one. The first step to caring for yourself goes back to the beginning here. You must learn to love like God which can only be done by reading His Word.
You can fill the rest of the self-care with eating well, finding movement that works your body, getting rest required to be a caregiver, and being open to hobbies or interest outside of the caregiving role. Finding someone to talk with a trusted friend or counselor is also an important step to love someone with chronic illness.
How to love someone with chronic illness begins with loving God and yourself. You will find this to be the key to a successful relationship as a caregiver . How do you suggest we love someone with chronic illness?