"She Keeps Singing!" Gospel Artist Sheri Easter Shares Her Story, Caregiving, and Music

Have you ever struggled to trust God when lousy things happen to you. I'm Gracie Rosenberger in 1983 I experienced a horrific car accident leading 80 surgeries in both legs and became it. I question why God allowed something so brutal to happen to me. But over time, my questions changed and I discovered courage to trust God that understanding along with an appreciation for quality prosthetic limbs led me to establish standing with help more than a dozen years we been working with the government of Ghana and West Africa, equipping and training local workers to build and maintain quality prosthetic limbs for their own people on a regular basis. We purchased in ship equipment and supplies and with the help of inmates in a Tennessee prison. We also recycle parts from donated limbs. All of this is to point others to Christ. The source of my hope and strength, please visit standing with help.com to learn more and participate in lifting others that standing without.com. I'm Gracie and I am staining with hope. I will not bad news exhumed 131 the family talk to Rosenblum again from the Easter's Jeff insurer Easter and I have Sherry on the loan with me inferior love that lyric. Thank you for taking time just calling the show all thank you so much for my favorite all will before we get too far.

How are you feeling today how we work.

Some of the first to be affected by the coronavirus thing we travel 150 to 208, the year and I found out on Monday that I might not be going to four different places this week and I am the kind of person who doesn't do well sitting at home, I told you if you leave me here too long.

I may have everything we decorated with thank you like please God let this verse� So I can save money. I get that and I wrote about the good mom. When one goals are going up because there was ribs. The more time together is rough up the book was 35 years now year were always around each other. If I don't usually make paint roller will I was painting yesterday. My wife loves the big I don't like to.

I'm pretty good at it but I'm very slow and John and I don't know, it's John newcomers was here when you wrote that Saul you Jeff wrote that my good friend Marsha Henry. I did not like that when I like probably material that the song was written about 30 years ago and she and I talked in a church service and I told her that I love song that compared today's life with you know the relationship we have that we know and understand to that of the father and she came back at me with this particular song in the first time I heard it over my desk and cried. And if God wills it is a beautiful song. You are no stranger to the caregiving world got it all. Would you give us a little bit of background, and that I want. I want to ask you a couple questions you still lose some of your experiences in this journey. Okay, well, technically, I think I was born a caregiver firstborn in my picture should be by that this definition dictionary so I mothered my little brother, let me and I when I was 20 years old, my dad died unexpectedly of a heart attack and me and my mom were very very close and she is more passive with more aggressive and so she started depending on me to do things for her that you know maybe a husband and wife would do. She would call me and ask if she could buy vacuum cleaner.

She would call me and asked my opinion about certain things with the house or with whatever she was doing and what kind of gradually started from there and she started giving me a little more responsibility every day with taking care of her build her rental house and then all the sudden she was diagnosed with Parkinson's and Lewy body dementia and yet that point put me in charge of everything, power of attorney, executor of the estate. All of the accounts and all I got became CEO at that time because I'm still young woman I was. I was 30, 38, at the time and I had just found out about a year or two after she was diagnosed that I was pregnant with my little caboose. I had a 12 and 17-year-old and found out that we were pregnant and so I look at God and I'm like okay God, you've given me my mom to take care of.

Now I have a baby to take care of.

I don't know what to do and I'll never forget the moment that God laid it on my heart to do what my mama did and that was she traveled 100,000 miles a year for 58 years and when we were little. She had the best help that she could and so I started by hiring help in her home and that lady would come in and feed them and tidy up a little bit because mama couldn't do that anymore gradually produce down into with her Parkinson's Lewy body dementia. The ability to speak. She was bedridden for nine years and could not speak the last three years of her life and this woman was sunshine and so is a really hard but it was a very long gradual process of caregiving that started out as just helping her make a few phone calls all the way to completely taking care of her around-the-clock will and for those who don't know this series family, both on the Easter so with her husband's family with her sudden family and the Lewis family of these were significant players in the gospel music. Remember John you're from Arkansas so you understand gospel music was born and raised in South Carolina and live 35 years into the sea before, but gospel music is emotional state boundaries. But there's a lot of concentration where we were from the self, your family, you know you guys are gospel music world to you.

You you Jeff if garnered six.

What six double wards in one of things I love about your story is that is that I chose to my fellow caregivers know if you put your life on hold you or your harming yourself.

You may not be able to do or you want to do what does it mean you have to put it on hold and put all your dreams and all your things and you kept working.

If you keep doing because that God made you a singer and you Sing God, what are you doing I'm called thing I know that I know that baby is a gift from God, what are you doing and if anything it was my gave me incredible joy while I was taking care of my mom and I like offend me in mama. We were so close that we were always talking to each other back and forth and it was just one of those things that I count it an honor and a privilege. Most people don't get to care for their parents the way that I did my sweet mama and I will tell me about your writing is you write a lot of stuff of your stuff and I would I would imagine you get other people to so your songs as well. But tell me, how is your writing change through a lot of journey. Oh, I don't believe anybody can truly light things that will touch people and to experience things that are are are really tough.

My writing began shortly after my daddy passed away. I was 20 years old and out like just flipped upside down and I would I feel people all the time as a writer we write whether or not you're going to read. We just right, you know, and it led into writing songs and I enjoyed that was a wonderfully fresh and of the things I had been through and I love songs like roses are born-again songs that tell people it's going to be okay that you are love song here my part, which is probably one of the most popular songs that I wrote. I wrote it shortly after breast cancer is another thing that I had to walk through all while taking care of my mom and and my baby girl and and I was going to breast cancer 11 years ago. I am this July going to be 12 years cancer free from certain very very grateful. But that was probably the quiet year of my life. My husband tells me I was born to do.

Talk radio because I never thought you understand because somebody like that to my wife is of you beyond her limitations, which are significant but she is almost shorter to think like if she did have some of the challenges you just because she graces a force of nature, and I got a strange question will ask you was arrested for start now. What I assure you I would just does you being John of, but it would when your mother passed away. Did you did you sing at her funeral. I did not think about and I allowed my wish I had in years old and I did it every day. I chose the out that I chose the song that I wanted to play video I chose pictures that we wanted to do a collage. My incredible husband is good with stuff like that and put together the sweetest in memory of for her and we I had written a song about her call. She loved and I had written a song years before she was diagnosed because she was one of those forces of nature. Just very people person.

Everybody loved her walk into the room and the whole place was just like that so I read the song about and it was so descriptive of her and her nature that I played that one video and that with all of Jeff or Sherry that you got for her funeral. Every other song was Polly thinking about heaven about family and about loving God, and it was mostly joyful and that would get back I will will tell that I will tell which relative, but I had a relative is very close well said. I hate to say I enjoy the feel but I sure did enjoy probably know I totally get that because it is a pianist. I have played for a flexible nursing home that stick out is such a deeply meaningful event in the celebration of people's lives. And there are some that were just agonizing. You know you love could probably compare notes of them and would share the same kind of things because there are some that are just just agonizing. I get that but there are others that were just so moving and special and even and even there was laughter that some of the great and Ukraine differently lost to lost a lot of my dad died. It was here and in questions like you I was 20. My brother was 16, my mom was a widow at 47 we went to state fast-forward to my mom passing took her 16 years of gradual decline down all of the different heel and by the time she passed away. There was such relief and such pain that she was no longer hurting very few tears and and a little odd for me because I'm a crier I tell people I cry when I'm happy I cry when I'm sad if you make me mad enough I'll try the choir that now I get things that I really didn't quite a lot is so very different like that is strange and has a lot of different faces and a lot of it. Sometimes people will unfortunately tell us how we should grieve and I just I really struggle with that because I'm thinking you know it it's going to be what is going to be something about them. It's there trying to figure out how project did you when you're out on the road and you're juggling all these things did you have people that came alongside and try to tell you how to do it better thing to get all earlier and I hearing some of that you how it how could somebody say something like many credit that that was one of the things I only ran into a couple of times but to be honest with you it was just me and my little brother at the sibling and my little brother is incredibly interesting of me about every time so every decision I would include him in the decision and he would always differ back to make what ever you think that's okay. He never complained about one thing, he never criticize anything we didn't. He never questioned if I should do something differently.

But of course there were other family members and I had a wonderful nurse from one of the local schools. Melinda pumped a friend of mine.

She said Sherry if people criticize you and they will. Family will criticize you and not mean to but because they are hurting and they love her to answer a lot of dooming to try to work out the Salvation Army in the doctrines of your theology and everything else in it helps that I was 2nd� black belt will go so it was to get out of Google. We will take a quick break go we were talking Sherry Easter she is part of Jeff and Sherry Easter amazing gospel group and fellow caregiver somebody who understands journey has put her scared hand into his score and I'm just grateful she took the tub called overweight. This is hopefully caregiver 877-655-6755 877-6645 665 caregiver 461 of them listen to my friend showed really good at what he has a caregiver. Think about all the legal documents you need power of attorney will, living wills, and so many more than about such things as disputes about medical bills.

What if instead of showing out hefty fees for a few days of legal help paid a monthly membership and a law firm for life. Well, we are taking legal representation and making some revisions in the form of accessible, affordable, full-service coverage. Finally, you can live life know you have a lawyer in your back pocket who at the same time is empty.

It's called legal shield and its practical, affordable and a must for the family caregiver visit caregiver legal.com that's caregiver legal.com. Isn't it about time someone started advocating for you www.dotcaregiver.com on independent associate. Have you ever struggled to trust God when lousy things happen to you.

I'm Gracie Rosenberger in 1983 I experienced a horrific car accident leading 80 surgeries in both legs and became it. I questioned why God allowed something so brutal to happen to me.

But over time I questions changed and I discovered courage to trust God that understanding along with an appreciation for quality prosthetic limbs led me to establish standing with help more than a dozen years we been working with the government of Ghana and West Africa, equipping and training local workers to build and maintain quality prosthetic limbs for their own people on a regular basis.

We purchased ship equipment and supplies and with the help of inmates in a Tennessee prison. We also recycle parts from donated limbs. All of this is to point others to Christ. The source of my help and strength these visit standing with help.com to learn more and participate in lifting others that standing without.com.

I'm Gracie. I am staining with help and hope your hero talk Chelsea or six and 130 your show caregiver that is my wife Gracie with the gospel recording artist Russ staff singular so that I love.

Listen to those to sing together.

It was just real treat to do that and that's part of her new record of scope resilient and she is indeed resilient. You will see more but steady with hope.com study with hope.com. Anything you want to do for said with hope to help putting legs are fellow entities was glad to have you as part of the show today, I would join with Sherry Easter she and her husband Jeff a bit out there singing in front of who knows how many people I don't think you guys can tell at this point, but along the way she was thrusting the caregiving world and she kept singing the book have actually called here. My heart and 2008 and I really hard time for our family. But I sat down and I was very quiet.

That year, put down a lot of my thoughts and it turned into a book. I didn't want to write a book about breast cancer that it wanted to define me basically started with picking strawberries right behind my grandfather when I was two and three years old and it went all the way through meeting Having children having breast cancer. Taking care of my mom when she was going to Parkinson's delay body dementia and a little bit of everything so it can't hear my heart, and we sell it on our website And Sherry Easter.com and the best way to get to know Jeff and Sherry will and I would recommend going out there there's a lot of stuff out there for you to look at is Sherry with the one or by the way SH I and something like that just Sherry Easter.com Sherry as you as you look for them. You guys are you good have to take a little bit of time off, evidently because this at least for the short term for the scrollbars. I think it's going probably play out pretty well in the nation.

Having dysplastic attack here little bail but right now it's got a little biblical but would you close the ski resort out here.

They close the wall house that's like.

It is the apocalypse with waffle house close so I got Jesus take us now I can hear the trumpet sound that was in the book of Revelation somewhere in their scope waffle house close. It's all over but you know what you guys go because I guess will be silent for just a little bit what you plan on doing. We are literally taking one my favorite song and I never really got it when I was a teenager and now that I do have to walk one at a time and have learned these experiences that she is walk the same kind of road that she had to take. I learned I probably laugh 10 to 12 years that I know I'm not in control of anything even though I'm a control freak. I'm not in control of anything and so I'm trying to remember, and my studies have really been on lately getting that manna for every day and not being able to store it up if we do mold and have baguette so we just have to trust God for enough manna every day just like you did the Israelites and that kind of been my my go to thought process. It's always been in Matthew, where we have enough to worry about today.

Let's not think about tomorrow. You know it's even gone stronger and further for me because you know I'm I'm a planner you know I like things organized and detail and I cannot tell you the joy that it brought me. Yesterday I found out that all four of my date canceled this weekend I found out that two of my dates next weekend were canceled and then I found out that I had to go and get product from a warehouse in Wilmington, North Carolina, so I thought, yeah I can. My schedule that concrete moments road trip to pick a product you know will throw out a phrase that a friend of mine told me one time when I was going through struggles this because I am much I like to think of 12 steps down the road and as a caregiver you just hit you could plan but you you know and he said learn to be comfortable with ambiguity that quickly come with one of those flyby the pants I like likely walk into the house and look at me and they had left.

Go to the beach. You never know. Okay give me 15 minutes and had to learn to go with his low and he catalogued And feel a little bit were really good for each other and that way well that that's these are things that are important for us to look you guys across 22 years you have notes on Mildred my Dennis Perkins family moves Parkinson's and in the course always chose a deal with Gracie. My brother and his daughter was have a daughter that's 31 cerebral palsy know had known earlier the show with her husband cerebral palsy and is there plenty of tears, but there is extreme beauty and even in the midst of these things that you can see that you can uncover if you're willing to go there. I think so many of us are so horrified and terrified of the pain and if you notice in our society that we have this aversion must not feel bad at all cost and that is just a fools errand. We can't that's not possible to maintain and and I have said that it is okay for us to laugh even well. Tears are coming down her cheeks. You know that I point to the example like a greasy header radiosurgery a while back over veritable national to the elevator and in she she had her arm in a sling because it worked on her elbow. She had two prosthetic leg sticking below her him one of her skirt and it was just stare at her later in the morning would be nice about it just Aaron and Pilate had enough said worst hysterectomy ever freaked out know what to do in the they looked out of the shoes of that is I will Rado said she put up a fight God lover and it's okay to laugh you have known today. His shoulders when you got home all she left, but I listen to your voice Sherry, can you just bubbling with joy. You were so excited about life and I know there tears in your journey and so I'm very grateful that you keep well just let us know that it's okay to laugh into singing to keep singing even in the midst of this when you come back. Well that is very gracious of you Jeff and Sherry Easter.com please go visit the website. Thank you for taking the time Sherry help the caregivers make better caregivers face great start in helping euros will see you next week