I found God through my glucose levels

  I’ve learned much in the last couple of months living with diabetes. How to eat and how not to eat. How to live a more structured life and how to minimize stressful situations. How to be aware of the fragility of life and how one little thing like an unplanned donut or slice of pie can throw an entire body out of whack. But, even for such a short period of time it is already amazing me to see how God has created the human body so that every system within us is affected by another.

  The Psalmist tells us in Psalm 139 that God created our entire “innermost being.”  There is a plan and design to how we work, both physically and emotionally. Looking back I can see clearly how for so long I was fatigued so much of the time, had vision problems and was losing feeling on the bottom of my feet. I also was constantly thirsty. I was guzzling water, diet beverages and, of course, sweet iced tea. I have never been the most energetic of people and much preferred the sofa to the lawnmower, but the fatigue was becoming seriously, well, fatiguing. And the whole feet thing was quite baffling. It felt like my socks were all wadded up under my feet when I was walking….but, I would look down and realize I was barefoot. No feeling.

  However, after getting serious about my diet and beginning medication, things began to change. Within the first week or so, I noticed that I no longer needed an afternoon nap. My energy level was surprisingly up. The tingling and numbness of my feet was decreasing and feels almost normal again. And my overall attitude is better.

  Over the past month and a half, I’ve done some experimenting with what foods I can and cannot eat. For example, I would eat a couple slices of thin crust pizza and almost immediately feel all weird and sluggish. After a bit, other symptoms would occur. When I checked my blood levels after a couple hours, my readings had soared higher than I thought possible. It took the rest of the day and night to get them back to normal and feel well again. Several days later, I tried the same thing with a small stack of pancakes with sugar-free syrup and once again, the levels soared, I felt very tired and started drinking everything in sight. I’m careful of these “experiments” and don’t do them often, but it is helpful for me to see the drastic results.

  In the midst of all this, it dawned on me in a new way how intricate our bodies are. One little thing like a slice of pizza, a big glass of orange juice or even a chocolate chip cookie can wreak havoc on so many other areas of our body and cause harmful effects. People can change diets, quit smoking and exercise more to the benefit of our bodies…. but, a person did not make our body react to these things as it does. Only God could do that. But, since He is God (and not a puppet-master), He gives us the free will to live as we choose. And He does not interfere as we reap the results of our choices. Several writers of the New Testament tell us that “our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit” and that we are to “present our bodies to God as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable….”  I was wrong to have junked up my body for so many years and ignored the results. I hope you will examine yourself and see if you are presentable to God as a good place for Him to live.

  And for today my friends, this has been the gospel according to Jimmy.