Reflection

During lunch with a great friend Saturday, I was reminded how far God has brought me in the past few years. I have gotten so caught up in the here and now, that I honestly don’t remember if I have thanked the Lord for being so faithful to me.

About 2 years ago I was really struggling with trying to juggle my diabetes, my psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis. At the time, my doctors and I had not found the right combination of medicine for my psoriasis and my psoriatic arthritis. My skin was covered in plaques, which was so painful and itchy and I was miserable. My joints were doing ok. This was after my body had shut down and I was able to walk but the amount of pain I was still in on a daily basis was unpredictable.

My diabetes, on the other hand, was completely uncontrolled. I had been taking about 7 shots of insulin a day and just couldn’t take it anymore and I got so overwhelmed that I just quit dealing with it.  I was not checking my sugar like I was supposed to and I was eating whatever I wanted. I didn’t have any of those high sugar symptoms so I figured it was fine. I had been asking my diabetes doctors for an insulin pump, but they told me that I had to get my sugar under control and keep it under control for 6 months before they would consider a pump.  In my mind, that was impossible.

Then one day I went to the doctor and he wanted to do blood work and a urinalysis. Well, about 10:30 pm the same day that I went to the doctor, I got a phone call from the doctor’s office. The doctor on call that night had received a call from the lab. The lab told him the amount of sugar in my urine was off the charts. He wanted me to check my sugar immediately and let him know what it was. When I checked it, it was 514 (it is not supposed to be over 150 in my case anyway)! He sent me to the hospital to get insulin. I figured that I would just go get some insulin, which would take a couple of hours, and then they would send me home. It was late and I knew my husband had to work the next day so I went by myself.

Well, once I got there, the ER doctor changed that plan… He admitted me into the hospital.  This was the point that I realized that I had to change what I was doing to my body. I was still so overwhelmed by trying to take care of everything all at the same time that I didn’t know what to do.  Of course, giving this over to God, the Great Physician, never crossed my mind before this point.

Finally, I cried out to Him and He led me to find another doctor for my diabetes.  One that would help me get an insulin pump.  I decided to look for a doctor in Dallas, I mean, what’s one more doctor in Dallas, I already had 2. I had no idea how to find one, so I googled “best endocrinologist in Dallas” and I called to get an appointment, fully expecting that he was either booked solid, or that I would have to wait for months to see him.  He was able to see me within 2 weeks!  I was shocked, but looking back, I don’t know why I was shocked?  I had cried out to God and He is always so faithful!

I went to the new doctor, and the first thing he wanted to do was talk about putting me on a pump… I had not told him that was what I wanted, so I was excited!  Not only did I get an insulin pump, but I got a CGM (continuous glucose monitor) that would check my sugar every 5 minutes and send the result to my pump.  WOW!  So step 1-get my sugar under control was working.  Now for step 2-some new drugs had come out for psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis, and when we put some new combinations together, my skin cleared up within a couple of weeks, and my joints were doing great!

When I looked back at how I was trying to handle everything and what a mess I had created with my health, I realized just how miserable and overwhelmed I was. Then I looked at how after I had cried out to God, the changes in my health were immediate.  I was amazed at how quickly things just fell into place.  I don’t know why it took me so long to ask Him for help, because I know that He always answers and when given the opportunity, He takes care of everything.

PHILIPPIANS 4:6-7 DON’T WORRY ABOUT ANYTHING; INSTEAD, PRAY ABOUT EVERYTHING.  TELL GOD WHAT YOU NEED, AND THANK HIM FOR ALL HE HAS DONE.  THEN YOU WILL EXPERIENCE GOD’S PEACE, WHICH EXCEEDS ANYTHING WE CAN UNDERSTAND.  HIS PEACE WILL GUARD YOUR HEARTS AND MINDS AS YOU LIVE IN CHRIST JESUS.

I always thing of the story in the Bible of Jesus healing the 10 lepers.  Only 1 out of the 10 came back to thank Him.  I want to be like that 1 but I fail so many times, like the 9 that didn’t go back and thank Him.  Right now, I want to thank my Heavenly Father for allowing everything to fall into place.  I am no more overwhelmed or juggling my diabetes, psoriasis, or psoriatic arthritis, and that is only due to the Great Physician.

Always remember to give all your problems to the Lord, and then remember to thank Him for all He has done for you.  Pray for me as I try to do the same thing!  THANK YOU FATHER FOR ALWAYS TAKING CARE OF ME!