💙 Welcome to Refuel — where faith meets real life for caregivers, families, and anyone holding it all together. 💙

Hey fam,

Caregiving has a way of rearranging everything — your schedule, your energy, and sometimes, your marriage.

You didn’t marry caregiving, but it moved in anyway.
It doesn’t knock. It doesn’t wait for permission. It just shows up with medication charts, late-night anxiety, and endless “Did you remember to…?” conversations.

Before you know it, your partner becomes your co-worker in a full-time job neither of you applied for.
The love is still there — it’s just buried under exhaustion and duty. And it’s really problematic if there was friction BEFORE mom or dad moves in.

This week’s issue is for every couple doing their best to stay connected while navigating care, stress, and survival.

📘 Recommended Read:
Refuel: The Caregiver’s Handbook — the perfect starter resource for navigating caregiving with strength, wisdom, and faith.

Sometimes you don’t even realize what’s happening. The symptoms are subtle.

That’s what compassion fatigue looks like inside a relationship. You’re both giving so much outwardly that you forget to look inward.

Awareness is the first step. This isn’t about blame — it’s about noticing the quiet distance before it becomes a canyon.

Intimacy doesn’t require a weekend getaway. Sometimes it’s the five minutes before sleep when you say, “How are you really?”

Here’s what worked for me:

Love isn’t always a grand gesture — sometimes it’s just choosing softness when you could snap. I just urged someone to make sure they never skip a date night because at some point you will have to hire someone so you can get a few hours alone.

Caregiving changes what partnership looks like.
You may not have long weekends or spontaneous date nights, but you can still have connection — if you protect it.

Try saying:

Boundaries aren’t walls; they’re fences that protect what’s inside.
And what’s inside — your marriage — is worth guarding.

Remember: God didn’t call you to burn out for love. He called you to build love that endures.

If you’ve been feeling the drift, here are ways to bridge it:

You don’t have to fix everything in one talk.
You just have to begin.

And hire some help!!!

✅ Love requires intention — not time, but presence.
✅ Rest together, even in silence. Stillness heals connection.
✅ Protect your peace as fiercely as you protect your loved one’s safety.
✅ Ask God to renew your patience and passion daily — He will.

Marriage, like caregiving, is a ministry of service.
It demands humility, grace, and daily surrender.

Ask God to refill what caregiving has drained.
Pray that your partnership becomes a safe harbor, not another battlefield.
Because yes — you didn’t marry caregiving.
But you did promise to love through sickness and health.

And through His strength, you can hold both.

💙 Refuel by Faith + Gasoline

💙💙Community is the new currency. 💙💙

Storms don’t define you — they refine you.
Keep the faith. Keep showing up!

Go be great. 🚀💙
Love you.

With faith & fuel,
Judith A. Culp