Week 319: Marriages and Hospitalization

-

Please join us this week in praying for couples going through the hospitalization of a spouse. This life situation can create numerous stresses on a marriage. Just dealing with the anxiety of the medical situation itself is trying on a marriage, but there are other stressors as well.

When one spouse is in the hospital, daily tasks do not decrease by half; in fact, they increase for the other spouse, and, if children are involved, they increase a lot. Time gets compressed as one spouse tries to be at the hospital to support and comfort the other while still meeting the demands of work, home and family.

When one spouse is hospitalized, it is not unusual at all for both spouses to become sleep-deprived. Hospitalization does not equate to quality rest for the patient or for the spouse who is splitting time between a lonely bed at home and a not-so-comfortable chair in a hospital room. The longer the hospital stay, the more weariness is likely to increase. And, unfortunately, weariness tends to decrease one’s capacity for patience and compassion, attributes that are important during the hospitalization of a spouse.

Finally, a sense of helplessness can descend on marriages in this life situation, on the part of the patient because of the limits imposed by his or her illness and, on the part of the spouse, because of his or her inability to make the situation better.
 
This whole situation is now exacerbated by covid-19. Because of restriction on visitation and limited effective therapies, the stress level for everyone is just ratcheted up a bit.

Please pray that these couples will
  • Lay all their cares upon Jesus who cares for them
  • Not be afraid to let their friends and family know they need help
  • Get the rest they need to function
  • Be wise and unified concerning treatments for the sick patient
  • Be free from financial worries
  • Receive the support they need from their family, friends and church body (be open to the possibility that you, the reader of this post, may be the answer to this prayer for some couple you know)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Week 329: Marriages and a Workaholic Spouse

-
Please join us this week in praying for marriages dealing with the workaholic tendencies of a spouse. A workaholic is often defined as one who works compulsively. When a workaholic is in a marriage, his/her compulsive tendencies can create serious difficulties. Examples of issues brought about by a workaholic spouse are a low degree of spousal interaction, limited emotional connection, an absence of sexual intimacy and insufficient opportunities to enjoy common interests, all of which can lead to loneliness and isolation. It is no wonder the spouse of a workaholic can become convinced he/she is not cherished or valued by the work-driven spouse. All needs, interests and dreams take second place to the workaholic’s job. When children are involved, stresses increase even more as the workaholic habitually misses significant events and family functions, leaving the spouse to be the children’s sole support and forcing the spouse to explain away the workaholic’...
Read more
-
Well, I have learned a little about Blogger page building, enough to be mostly satisfied with the design. I hopw to start posting again Monday. Thank you for following and mostly for praying for the marriages of the world.
Read more
-
There will be a short, I hope, hiatus in my Praying for Marriages blogs. Blogger has changed quite a bit, and thus I have lost the auto-formatting I have used for years. As soon I figure out how to use this new version of Blogger, I will continue the Praying for Marriages blogs. Thank you for praying for marriages. Just because my blog is taking a break, it does not mean you must take a break. Marriages in all situations need your intercession for them.
Read more