Something To Be Thankful For

To the Editor:

It was the day after Thanksgiving, and as we sat bundled up in our blankets around the warm fire outside, my mother asked us (besides Jesus, family, and friends) what we were thankful for. My family said they were thankful for many things such as God’s creation, homeschool, where we live, food, dance, music, etc. I said I was thankful for my type one diabetes.

I was diagnosed at 12. I used to not be thankful for my diabetes in fact, even though I never said it, when I first got diagnosed, I hated it. What kid wants to give themselves four or more shots of insulin a day, poke their finger all the time, and when their blood sugars are high and then low like a roller coaster feel worse than ever before? Or have to continually monitor their blood sugars, all the time, or have to wonder if they were going to have a seizure from low blood sugar or go into a coma because of high blood sugars? What kid wants to basically be their own pancreas? No one! That was me, I used to hate my type one diabetes. But now, even though it is not always fun, I am thankful for my type one diabetes. And not only am I thankful for it, but I now love it. My mother asked me why I was thankful for it. My answer was because God gave it to me. Even though it is not fun, God gave me T1D and so I trust that it is for my good. I trust He is sovereign over everything. I do not know why He gave me T1D, but I trust it is all for good. I could be scared and not understand why He gave this to me or, I could take it as a blessing. Since I was diagnosed, I have seen how God has grown our family together. By His grace I have made lots of friendships with other kids that have T1D too, and have been able to share the gospel. I am more in awe of God’s creation, especially how our bodies are so intricate in design. This is just to name a few. In the Bible, Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose.” And I have seen the good!

So, when it is hard and rough, and I do not understand why God gave me this, I try to remember that God is totally sovereign over all things. Romans 5:3-5 says, “More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” I know 2020 has been a really rough year in many different ways for people. I hope my story of dealing with something really rough will be an encouragement and help to someone out there.

Kerina Kelly

Muldoon