eileen

/Eileen Benthal

About Eileen Benthal

Eileen Benthal is a writer, speaker and wellness coach with a B.A. in Theology from Franciscan University. She and her husband Steve live in Jamesport and have four young adult children. Their youngest, Johanna, is a teenager with special needs. Eileen can be reached at FreeIndeedFreelance.com.

The fourth watch of the night

Preparation for a major storm always brings extra added stress. Living with a special needs child who is medically fragile, I have a few added details to keep in my mind. There are critical seizure medications to refill and making certain that we have access to emergency medical care, despite any storm. One of the advantages of the difficult trials we have been through all these years is that we have to be ready for a crisis at any moment. I keep a hospital bag packed in my closet, ready to throw in the car at a moment’s notice. I also keep an updated medical summary which details medications and a surgical overview which readily explains my daughter’s condition to any medical professional. These storms of life are never easy, but I have learned that my faith can help me rise to the challenge. Matthew 14:22-33 provides an interesting boater’s [...]

2017-01-08T20:42:49-05:00 October 28th, 2012|Categories: Caregiver, Life on Purpose|0 Comments

God saves the best for last

Last weekend my husband and I traveled to Connecticut for my nephew’s wedding. We were planning to bring my daughter, Johanna, but she has been struggling with intense headaches and pain in her spine. As I tended to her the night before, I seriously thought of canceling the trip. That’s just what I do when Johanna isn’t feeling well because there are very few people who are comfortable caring for a medically fragile kid. However, an experienced friend and my son offered to care for Johanna so we could go to the wedding. Once the decision was made, I felt an overwhelming relief. It wasn’t until I boarded the ferry that the situation really hit me. As I was walking up the stairs of the boat, I realized that no one needed my help. I didn’t need to hold anyone’s hand (the older man beside me shuddered when I instinctively [...]

2017-01-08T20:42:49-05:00 October 21st, 2012|Categories: Caregiver, Life on Purpose|0 Comments

When God speaks, are you listening?

When I was in second grade, preparing for my first Holy Communion, the pastor gave a beautiful talk on how to get to know Jesus. His words, excitement and his smile are forever etched in my mind. He told us the best way to get to know Jesus was to walk and talk with him every day in the same way that we chose to walk and talk with a friend. I decided that I wanted a relationship with God and being the literal and diligent child that I was, I went home from church to begin my new walk with Jesus. It was a sunny Saturday afternoon in my Connecticut, suburban neighborhood when I started my first walk with Jesus. I extended my hand out to the side and I asked Jesus to take a walk with me. Certain that my hand was in his, I walked confidently and [...]

2017-01-08T20:42:49-05:00 September 30th, 2012|Categories: Caregiver, Life on Purpose|0 Comments

In the dawn of a new day: joy

Depression is a real human emotion and a clinical diagnosis in certain circumstances. It is also a common human experience that most of us conceal from the world around us. Despite the endless parade of symptoms and drug solutions bombarding us on television, radio and internet, we oftentimes feel ashamed of depression and view it as a weakness rather than a symptom of an underlying problem. Many times depression is a response to an event. Happy events like the holidays can trigger what we now call the “holiday blues”. Sometimes grief over the loss of a loved one or disappointments can linger causing an underlying malaise that could be characterized as depression. Thanks to advances in neuroscience we now understand that many people have physiological deficiencies which can depress the production of neurotransmitters, chemicals in the brain which are responsible for transferring impulses to keep our brains, emotions and body [...]

2017-01-08T20:42:49-05:00 September 23rd, 2012|Categories: Caregiver, Life on Purpose|0 Comments

Why do bad things happen to good people?

Why do bad things happen to good people? This question has plagued believers and non-believers since the creation of the human race. The Old and New Testament and Judeo-Christian traditions offer insights without directly answering the question. Job is one such example. The Book of Job refers to Job as “blameless and upright man, who feared God and avoided evil” (Job 1:1). The first chapter expounds on the blessings Job received in his life; wealth, property, wife, children and farm animals abounding. Then, curiously enough toward the end of this chapter, the author explains that Satan asked God for permission to challenge Job’s holiness because he believes Job will forsake God when tested by trials. The Lord permits it and Job loses everything. As Job loses his wife, property, livestock and becomes afflicted with a terrible disease, his “friends” come out of the woodwork to explain why all these bad [...]

2017-01-08T20:42:49-05:00 September 16th, 2012|Categories: Caregiver, Life on Purpose|0 Comments

Justice and mercy: We need them both

Recently, I received some unsettling news about a friend we had known for a number of years, who was charged with a very serious crime. I realize that a charge is not a conviction, but the charges were serious enough that a casual call would not be appropriate. Thankfully, the conversations that ensued among our circle of friends were never speculative or gossiping, but were expressions of deep concern and promise to remain vigilant in prayer. This event has set me thinking that we often do not know a person or their private pain, weaknesses and struggles. It also caused me to think about justice and mercy and other times in my life I have had to face these issues. Almost 25 years ago, another person’s weakness and poor decisions altered my family’s life forever and I was personally challenged to live my faith in new and terrifying ways. I [...]

2017-01-08T20:42:49-05:00 September 2nd, 2012|Categories: Caregiver, Life on Purpose|0 Comments

Suffering, perseverance, character, hope. In that order

And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. Romans 5:5 Hope and disappointment do seem to go hand and hand. I think that is the reason why this scripture is so hard to accept or understand. We all have hoped for something and been disappointed. I hoped to grow up, get married, raise a family and be able to provide a wonderful life for them. Have many of my hopes been realized? Yes, I guess they have, but not without some very difficult trials along the way. Serious illnesses, severe financial struggles, marital strife, emotional and psychological pain all have led to some very trying disappointments in the midst of this hope. Recently I had some profound encounters with hope that gave me a deeper understanding of the relationship between hope and disappointment. My [...]

2017-01-08T20:42:49-05:00 August 26th, 2012|Categories: Caregiver, Life on Purpose|0 Comments

Love endures

Anyone who cares for a person with brain injury knows that routines are very important to help them organize their day, memory and indeed wrap their brain around the tasks ahead. Truly, all of us function best with routines and order in our lives, though some of us like it better than others. I land somewhere in the middle. I like order and routines, but I also like to go with the flow. I oftentimes have to go with the flow, even if it is rushing through my day like a dangerous river, in the form of a medical crisis or event demanding all of my attention. To facilitate structures, routines and help my daughter to learn the difficult concept of time, we have developed a specialized planner. In this planner, there is a calendar which is specifically made for Johanna, complete with picture cues and bold lettering and diminished [...]

2017-01-08T20:42:49-05:00 August 21st, 2012|Categories: Caregiver, Life on Purpose|0 Comments

Living life on purpose

"Purpose" is both a noun and a verb. The noun purpose is the reason for which something is done or created or for which something exists. The verb purpose is a transitive verb; “To intend or resolve to perform or accomplish.” I have a good grasp of the noun purpose. I am pretty good at reading between the lines to find the deeper meaning or purpose in letters, songs, and even in difficult situations. I have a clear sense of who I am and my purpose in this life. But it is that transitive verb which oftentimes escapes my grasp. I struggle with the intention and resolve to accomplish my purpose. For as long as I can remember, my Mom gave me purpose or at the least the hope of a purpose when she told me that she knew from my birth that God had a special plan for my [...]

2017-01-08T20:42:49-05:00 August 12th, 2012|Categories: Caregiver, Life on Purpose|0 Comments

Addiction and Grace

In the dark of night, in the prison of addiction, God offers us freedom as we surrender to grace. “During the night, the angel of the Lord opened the doors of the prison, led them out and said, “Go, take your place in the temple and tell the people everything about this life” (Acts 5:27). These words jumped off the page of my Bible as I was reading them the other day. In context, they refer to Peter and the apostles and their miraculous release from the prison they had been thrown into for preaching the gospel. It was an unjust imprisonment prompted by the jealously of another group of people. But what struck me is that every person can relate to the feeling of being imprisoned, if only in our minds. We can be imprisoned by judgmental attitudes, hatred and un-forgiveness. When we are unwilling to love and forgive [...]

2017-01-08T20:42:49-05:00 April 14th, 2012|Categories: Caregiver, Life on Purpose|0 Comments