Diabetes & My Christian Faith

I've been a Christian since I was 10 years old. Not to say I've always lived my life the way that Christ would have liked me to, but I accepted Him as my Savior shortly before my 11th birthday. He's been a constant in my life, even when I tried to avoid Him.

Another constant in my life has been diabetes. I've actually had diabetes longer than I've been a Christian. Wow. I don't think I ever thought about that until I was typing that sentence.


Seeing as how these two aspects of my life have been in my life longer than almost anything else, you'd think I'd come to terms with both of them.


And I have. But I've always had a problem dealing with them and how they relate to each other. I've never blogged about my thoughts on the "healing" crap that gets passed around by all the "miracle cure" people. But I've commented on several of the blogs by those who have voiced their opinions.


I fully believe that my Jesus died for my sins and that He took stripes for my healing:


- 1 Peter 2:24 Who His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.


-Isaiah 53:5 But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed.


Those verses alone tell me that He can heal me. His decision to do so is up to Him. I am faithful and will do what needs to be done. If I get my healing here on Earth... FANTASTIC! If I don't get it until Heaven, I still get it and will be thankful in eternity for His healing.


I do believe that He's had a hand in my life with diabetes. In regards to complications... I have very few. I've been living with diabetes for almost 25 years. My care wasn't always the best. A large majority of my childhood and my young adult life (up through college) I took minimal care of myself at best. When I look at the state of my body after all of that, I can see His hand on my life.


In spite of all of this, I've always had a hard time relating my diabetes life and my Christian walk. I know they are intertwined, but I've always had a hard time putting the two together in my head. Too many people have asked (maybe not directly, but still...) "What are you doing wrong, that you've not gotten your healing? Do you not have enough faith?" While I know those statements are absurd, I've always found it easier to keep diabetes and church.... separate, for the most part. Easier on me. Easier on my brain.


Not long ago I found out that the New York Historical Society was going to be having an exhibition called Breakthrough: The Dramatic Story of the Discovery of Insulin. This looking incredibly interesting to me. But as you all know, I don't live in New York. And my yearly trip usually occurs in May. This exhibit is set to close long before May.


I had nearly resigned myself to missing yet ANOTHER thing in New York (and asking myself AGAIN why I don't actually live there...) when my roommate suggested we take a very quick weekend trip to the city. And by very quick I mean less than 24 hours, sleeping on a friends floor and turning around and driving back. She wanted to see a show again (I won't lie... I wanted to see this show again myself) and she had to go to Maryland that weekend anyway. By the time you get to Maryland, you're more than halfway to NYC anyway.... so we went.


It required me to survive for 3 days on very little sleep, and to take a day off work, but we went to New York. Both of us went to see the show, she went to spend the morning at Comic Con, and I spent the morning at the New York Historical Society after a VERY quick breakfast with Allison.


Just a side note: all of my NYC friends, I didn't really tell anyone I was coming because I knew I wouldn't have time to visit with anyone. No worries though, I'm coming back in the late spring....this time for and entire week!


Going to the NYHS exhibit by myself was one of the best things I think I have ever done. And just so you know, God speaks to people in all kinds of places and in all kinds of situations. He most recently spoke to me on a Sunday morning in New York City while I looked at one of the most touching, wonderful historic exhibits that I've ever seen.


All around the exhibit is the evidence of life. My life. As few as 85 years ago, diabetes was a death sentence. If insulin had not been discovered, I wouldn't be alive right now. Had I been born in another century, I wouldn't be alive right now. That's a scary thought.


There are letters and log books and insulin bottles from the very beginning of insulin production through current types. There are pictures of children, nearly wasted away before they received the life saving serum, and after pictures showing healthy happy children. Children that you wouldn't even know were sick just by looking.


There were so many things that I couldn't begin to tell them all to you. But around one corner was a quote, written on a wall. This quote was by Elliott Joslin.


"By the Christmas of 1922 I had witnessed so many near resurrections that I realized I was seeing enacted before my eyes Ezekiel's vision of the valley of dry bones."


Wow. For those of you who aren't familiar with the story, it is found in Ezekiel chapter 37. Ezekiel, a prophet of God was given a vision by God.


Verse 1: The hand of the Lord was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones,


Verse 2: And caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry.


Verse 3: And He said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord God, thou knowest.


Verse 4: Again He said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.


Verse 7: So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the ones came together, bone to his bone.


Verse 8: And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above: but there was no breath in them.


Verse 10: So I prophesied as He commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army.


Although I've been familiar with this story for years (it's a favorite of my Pastor's), I stood and looked at that wall, with Dr. Joslin's quote, and realized that God was showing me something. He was showing me His hand in my diabetes. I was moved. I think I stood there for about 10 minutes, quietly staring, and praying. Thanking God for His hand on my life.


I knew my time was limited, so I continued on. Looking at pictures. Reading letters from patients that were sent to both Banting and Best (the scientists who helped discover insulin), and letters that were written to Dr. Elliott P. Joslin.


In one particular letter, written by a young adult who had received insulin and was living life quite well, there was another moment for me. I didn't write down the quote. I'm now wishing I had, but I can give it to you almost exactly. I don't think I'll ever forget it. The letter starts off telling Dr. Joslin of his good quality of life and thanks him for his help. Then, toward the bottom of the letter, the young man wrote "The persons who discovered insulit* should be thanked as they are following in the footsteps of the One who gives life more abundantly." Insulit was one of the early names/types of insulin.


John 10:10 has always been the verse I use to those who tell me that God gave me diabetes. I don't believe that. I never will. The verse reads: "The thief cometh not but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly."


I can assure you that diabetes kills, steals and destroys. Therefore it cannot come from the One who give life more abundant.


When I read that reference to one of my favorite verses in scripture, I cried. I stood in the New York Historical Society building and cried. I cried tears of pain and of joy. Pain at what I, and every other person that lives with diabetes, deals with on a daily basis. Tears of joy for the message that God sent me "I am here. Even in the diabetes. I am as much a part of your diabetes as I am of you." And I cried tears of thanks that God used men to create something that has saved millions of lives.


When I left, I called my mother and cried again as I told her what I'd read, and what I heard from Him.


I know insulin is not a cure. I pray for a true cure on a regular basis. But until a cure, I thank God for insulin and the treatments that have allowed me to live a semi-normal life.


If you have a chance to visit this exhibit, please do. It is worth it. You may not get what I got out of it. I wouldn't expect you to. But I can assure you that you will not be disappointed. The historical significance and the items that are included are very interesting. It's worth it.

Favorite Baby-Sitter

Who was your favorite baby-sitter as a kid? I could name a couple that I loved. I think every kids has a favorite. However, that's not the kind of baby-sitter that I'm talking about. The baby-sitters I'm talking about are the members of The Baby-Sitters' Club. Anyone remember them?

In 1986, Ann M. Martin published her first books in The Baby-Sitters’ Club Series. There ended up being hundreds of them, along with spin-off series like Baby-Sitters Little Sister, Baby-Sitters’ Super Editions, and Baby-Sitters’ Mysteries. I had most of them.

At first publication, I was only 5 years old. This was the year that I was diagnosed with diabetes. I didn’t read those books at first. But I remember getting my first boxed set of The Baby-Sitter’s Club books when I was around 6 or 7. I didn’t read them at first. I tried, but I think I was too young. They sat in my bedroom for a while. But by the time I was 8 or so, I was ready to read them. And read them I did. Kristy, Mary Ann, Claudia and Stacey became my friends. Later, Dawn, Jessie, Mallory and others joined the group. Each had their own quirky qualities. I related to each of them on some level.

But my favorite baby-sitter? Stacey. Always. Stacey had diabetes. Yup, she was a “juvenile diabetic”. And she was the only one I knew. I read those baby-sitters book until I was in high school. Even though I had out-grown them, I still wanted to read about them. I wanted to know what was happening in their lives.

One thing I loved about Stacey was that she never let diabetes keep her down. There were books that she did get sick. One, in particular, that I remember she started sneaking sweets and not giving insulin. She ended up in the hospital, successfully scaring her friends and her parents to death.

Oh, and Stacey and I shared a middle name. And she was originally from New York City (could that be where my obsession with the city started?). Random facts, but stuff that I remember and loved about Stacey.

I, of course, ended up with first release copies of most of The Baby-Sitters’ Club books. I ended up getting a boxed set of the first 4 or 5 book when I was around 6 or 7. At the time, they were just too much for me to read. They were chapter books. But by the time I'd hit 8ish, I was devouring them like crazy. At one point, I even made my mom enroll me in the mail order club so I could get the books as they came out (and cool other stuff too, like stickers, and bookmarks, and trading cards....I was such an 80s kid).

Even as a kid, I knew that Stacey's diabetes was somewhat mis-portrayed in the books. She was often referred to as a "brittle diabetic" (I won't get into my thoughts on that term...) and she was not able to eat a lot of different foods (sugary foods being at the top of the list). But, when these books were written, things were very different. The year of my diagnosis (and the publication of the books), 1986, was a very different time in diabetes treatment. But as the years went by, the books never really advanced, as far as Stacey's diabetes went.

They did another release years later. I never read the re-release versions of the earlier books, simply picking up on the new books as they came out, so I don't know if they changed anything in the first books that went into detail about Stacey's diabetes.

I think I quit reading the series sometime toward the end of high school. By that time I had advanced in my reading, obviously, but couldn't part with my dear friends in the Baby-Sitters' Club.

I think the books went through a lag period in sales, and Ann M. Martin starting writing some of the books in a new series (kind of a spin-off of the Baby-Sitters' Club). But when I was in college, I noticed that there was a final Baby-Sitters' Club book on sale at Wal-Mart. It was to be the last one ever. I bought it. It celebrated the Club members graduating middle school and moving on to high school. And it was a closure for me, in a way. Sure, the books would always be around. But they had gone on in my mind. They weren't The Baby-Sitters' Club anymore. They had grown up.

I actually hadn't thought about the books in quite sometime. Although, I'm sure if you asked, I could have quoted any of a million random facts about the characters. Then, last weekend, I was in Wal-Mart killing time before heading to a play, when I saw a book with a huge cupcake on the front.

I had to look. I mean, you guys know how I feel about cupcakes. :) And there on the cover were the words "The Baby-Sitters' Club: The Truth About Stacey".

I immediately picked it up. Apparently they are re-releasing the series again. Slightly modernized (kids don't really get perms anymore, and they have modern technology) of course. But I knew by the title, that this was the first "Stacey" book in the series. And I wanted to see if they'd updated anything about Stacey's diabetes. So I bought it.

I knocked it out fairly quickly and was both pleased, and disappointed. The story overall, is exactly as I remember it. The characters are the same. But, Stacey's diabetes remains virtually unchanged. It's vague at best. They talk about her diagnosis (symptoms and the hospital and having to take shots). They talk about controlling her diabetes with insulin and diet. But, again, the story is presented that Stacey can't have refined sugar or junk food. I wasn't too terribly disturbed with that, but later in the story, Stacey returns to New York for a doctor's appointment (her parents are doctor shopping, looking for a "cure") and they stay with friends. During that visit, there is a mention of Stacey keeping her insulin pump out of site.

My first reaction was joy that they mentioned an insulin pump. My second was confusion. Because, up to that point in the story (and it's nearly the end, by this point), there is never a mention made of an insulin pump. Only injections. This could be very confusing for someone who knows nothing of diabetes.

Overall, it makes me want to read the other re-released books, just to see if they address the subject more in depth. Or maybe it's just my nostalgia kicking in. I'm not sure.

Would I recommend this book? Well, I'd say if you were a lover of The Baby-Sitters' Club series as a kid, then go for it. If you are looking for something to share with your kids to actually teach them about diabetes, I'd say get another book.

But Stacey's still my favorite. And she always will be. :)