{"id":22159,"date":"2026-03-11T12:30:25","date_gmt":"2026-03-11T12:30:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/uncategorized\/lisa-leonard-shares-how-brave-love-helps-her-avoid-caregiver-burnout\/"},"modified":"2026-04-10T06:13:39","modified_gmt":"2026-04-10T06:13:39","slug":"lisa-leonard-shares-how-brave-love-helps-her-avoid-caregiver-burnout","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/inspiring-stories\/lisa-leonard-shares-how-brave-love-helps-her-avoid-caregiver-burnout\/","title":{"rendered":"Lisa Leonard Shares How &#8216;Brave Love&#8217; Helps Her Avoid Caregiver Burnout"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Lisa Leonard started making jewelry as a hobby after giving birth to her eldest son, David. David was born with Cornelia de Lange syndrome, a severe developmental disability. Doctors told Lisa and Stephen, a pastor at the time, that their son would never walk or talk.<\/p>\n<p>In the midst of learning to care for an infant <a href=\"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/positive-living\/friends-and-family\/parenting\/special-needs-children\/she-created-jobs-for-her-son-and-other-autistic\/\" onclick=\"window.open(this.href, '', 'resizable=no,status=no,location=no,toolbar=no,menubar=no,fullscreen=no,scrollbars=no,dependent=no'); return false;\">with special needs<\/a>, Lisa began to take her jewelry-making hobby more seriously. Soon, the business outgrew the kitchen table. Today, Lisa Leonard Designs employs hundreds of people and Stephen serves as President &amp; CEO of the company.<\/p>\n<p>From the outside, things looked perfect. But Lisa was struggling. She felt enormous pressure to be the perfect mom, caregiver, wife and designer. In her book, <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.lisaleonard.com\/brave-love-book\" onclick=\"window.open(this.href, '', 'resizable=no,status=no,location=no,toolbar=no,menubar=no,fullscreen=no,scrollbars=no,dependent=no'); return false;\">Brave Love<\/a>, <\/em>Lisa opens up about her journey to find true love\u2014and herself.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI really used to think love was giving and serving and making myself less, so I could make other people more,\u201d Lisa told <strong>Guideposts.org<\/strong>. \u201cI\u2019ve come to see that the bravest love is showing up as a whole person.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>This feeling that other people\u2019s needs were more important than her own started when Lisa was a child and only grew when she became a wife and mother of two boys.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMotherhood is a season of giving so much,\u201d Lisa said. \u201cThen our oldest son has special needs and so we&#8217;re giving a lot there. With David and his needs, it&#8217;s just ongoing and in some ways relentless.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>For years, Lisa felt like <a href=\"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/positive-living\/health-and-wellness\/caregiving\/family-caregiving\/caregiver-stress\/rob-lowes-tips-for-beating-caregiver-burnout\/\">she had to do it all<\/a>: attend to all of David\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/positive-living\/health-and-wellness\/caregiving\/family-caregiving\/caregiver-stress\/3-ways-to-support-caregivers\/\" onclick=\"window.open(this.href, '', 'resizable=no,status=no,location=no,toolbar=no,menubar=no,fullscreen=no,scrollbars=no,dependent=no'); return false;\">caregiving needs<\/a>, run her business, cook homemade meals for her family every night, and never ask for help.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnytime you&#8217;re a caregiver, whether its young children or a child with special needs, or an aging parent, there is a certain demand,\u201d Lisa said. \u201cWe can try to have healthy boundaries and self-care but it is demanding. It is exhausting. It can be hard to have perspective.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt&#8217;s very behind the scenes too,\u201d Stephen added. \u201cCaregiving is really important work. It&#8217;s probably some of the most significant work any of us ever do in our lives, <a href=\"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/positive-living\/health-and-wellness\/caregiving\/family-caregiving\/caregiver-stress\/emily-norton-opens-up-about-battling-depression-as-a-caregiver\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">but there is no credit and most of the time nobody sees it<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Stephen and Lisa also struggled to navigate the complicated web of grief, joy and pain that came with raising a child with special needs, especially after their younger son, Matthias was born. In <em>Brave Love<\/em>, Lisa admits how relieved she felt when Matthias was born perfectly healthy.<\/p>\n<p><em>Do I love this baby more because he doesn\u2019t have a disability? <\/em>She wondered. <em>Am I betraying David by loving our new baby? <\/em><\/p>\n<p>Lisa\u2019s guilt and exhaustion only continued to grow as her business took off.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI felt like I wasn\u2019t allowed to ask for help,\u201d Lisa said. \u201cI felt like I wasn\u2019t allowed to get so tired I couldn\u2019t care for David.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Finally, a few years ago, she reached a breaking point. Her marriage was floundering and the demands of business and motherhood had become so draining she wasn\u2019t sure she could do it anymore. She told Stephen she thought they should separate.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI needed some space to try and regroup and ended up going away for ten days,\u201d Lisa said.<\/p>\n<p>While she was away, Lisa realized how gracious Stephen had been about her taking time for herself. She started wondering, \u201cWhat else do I think I&#8217;m not allowed to ask for? Maybe I need to ask for it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She made a list of things that needed to change. She would go for more hikes. She would cook simpler meals. She would hire help for David and take time for herself. And she decided to go home.<\/p>\n<p>Ten days after her departure, Lisa returned home and she and Stephen went to <a href=\"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/positive-living\/friends-and-family\/marriage\/tamela-manns-5-tips-for-a-successful-marriage\/\" onclick=\"window.open(this.href, '', 'resizable=no,status=no,location=no,toolbar=no,menubar=no,fullscreen=no,scrollbars=no,dependent=no'); return false;\">work on their relationship<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe really had to redefine for ourselves what [rest] looks like so Lisa is very clear that she can [take] breaks,\u201d Stephen said.<\/p>\n<p>The couple said they\u2019ve fought more in the years since Lisa\u2019s trip, but their relationship is stronger.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt&#8217;s something I&#8217;ve really been working on is I can&#8217;t keep giving out of emptiness,\u201d Lisa said. \u201cI have to at some point rest, ask for help and set boundaries.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>They\u2019ve also decided to accept their feelings rather than denying them, especially when it comes to David and their caregiving responsibilities.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen you feel grief, or you feel guilt, you&#8217;re trying to tell yourself something,\u201d Stephen said.  \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/positive-living\/health-and-wellness\/caregiving\/family-caregiving\/caregiver-stress\/emily-norton-opens-up-about-battling-depression-as-a-caregiver\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Ask yourself \u2018why do I feel this<\/a>?\u2019 [I\u2019ll think] I feel angry right now. I love David and I feel angry about having to change another diaper today.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>On the surface, that feeling of anger might be enough to make Stephen feel guilty for not wanting to change a diaper for his sixteen-year-old son. But when he digs beneath the surface he sees that the anger isn\u2019t really about David at all.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy do I feel that?\u201d Stephen asked. \u201cNot because I&#8217;m angry at David. Actually that anger is covering that I\u2019m sad about the situation. Then I can process that\u2026and let myself feel sad. We wish David didn&#8217;t have Cornelia de Lange syndrome. At the same time, we&#8217;re delighted to serve him and to do everything we can to make his life as full as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>For Lis, <a href=\"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/prayer\/true-stories-of-answered-prayer\/following-her-sons-stroke-could-she-let-go-and-let-god\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">making self-care a priority has made a huge difference<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cOne of the big things that I did was started just making ten minutes a day to sit quietly. <a href=\"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/positive-living\/health-and-wellness\/caregiving\/hope-and-inspiration\/inspiration-and-prayer\/serving-as-a-caregiver-to-her-son-renewed-her-faith\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">It was totally transforming for me<\/a>,\u201d Lisa said.<\/p>\n<p>The couple also had to learn to share their feelings with each other.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo sit with someone in their grief or their anger or their sadness is such a gift,\u201d Lisa said. \u201cI think we can do that more for each other. To just listen without answers, without quick fixes. Those feelings just need to be felt.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Years ago, Lisa discovered a simple way to help her navigate how other people treated her son. When David was an infant, they were out for a family lunch and Lisa saw some boys pointing and laughing at her son.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI felt swallowed up by shame,\u201d she said. Then she made a decision. Instead of wallowing in her shame, she would address the boys directly. She went over and introduced herself and asked them if they had any questions about her son.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was really a life changing moment for me to feel like I [wasn\u2019t] ashamed of my son,\u201d Lisa said.<\/p>\n<p>In sharing her family\u2019s story, Lisa hopes that people, women in particular, will feel free to leave shame behind and find peace.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere is space in our marriage for two whole people,\u201d Lisa said. \u201cThere is space in our family for me to be a whole person with needs and wants\u2026Having needs and wants and communicating honestly is a really vulnerable way to live, but that\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/prayer\/bible-resources\/bible-verses\/inspirational-bible-verses\/inspiring-bible-verses-for-caregivers\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">where brave love comes from<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.lisaleonard.com\/brave-love-book\" onclick=\"window.open(this.href, '', 'resizable=no,status=no,location=no,toolbar=no,menubar=no,fullscreen=no,scrollbars=no,dependent=no'); return false;\">Brave Love<\/a> <\/em>is available wherever books are sold<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Lisa Leonard started making jewelry as a hobby after giving birth to her eldest son, David. David was born with Cornelia de Lange syndrome, a severe developmental disability. Doctors told Lisa and Stephen, a pastor at the time, that their son would never walk or talk. In the midst of learning to care for an [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":29725,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[375,135],"tags":[210,15,25,67],"ppma_author":[467],"class_list":["post-22159","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-caregiver-stress","category-inspiring-stories","tag-caregiving","tag-faith","tag-family","tag-marriage"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.6 (Yoast SEO v27.4) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Lisa Leonard Shares How &#8216;Brave Love&#8217; Helps Her Avoid Caregiver Burnout - Guideposts Articles<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Lisa Leonard Shares How &#8216;Brave Love&#8217; Helps Her Avoid Caregiver Burnout\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Lisa Leonard started making jewelry as a hobby after giving birth to her eldest son, David. 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