I don’t know exactly why I have diabetes. I’ve mentioned that before in a blog post and in a podcast interview as well. No one in my family has type 1, and I’ve never had an endocrinologist who could pinpoint the cause either. Not that the cause is necessarily important. It wouldn’t change things – I have it regardless. But I’m a living example that diabetes can happen to anyone.
I’m sure there are stats about the percentage of men with diabetes vs. women with diabetes. (I know some of both.) I’m sure there are numbers on the prevalence in different races and ethnic backgrounds. (I know several of those, too.) And I’m sure there are figures to show different ages and types of diabetes. (I know a few of those as well.)
But I’m not focused on which group has it more than another group. What I’m talking about here is that it can happen to anyone. Whoever. Regardless of statistics.
Not to be overly negative, but type 1 diabetes doesn’t discriminate to only one gender or one race or one age group. Diabetes isn’t particular.
DIABETES SYMPTOMS
This is an important reason to know the warning signs for diabetes. Can you name them? Here’s how Mayo Clinic lists them:
- Feeling more thirsty than usual
- Urinating often
- Losing weight without trying
- Presence of ketones in the urine
- Feeling tired and weak
- Feeling irritable or having other mood changes
- Having blurry vision
- and more…
Understanding these signs and symptoms is important because early diagnosis is key to preventing complications and staying healthy in the long run. And that’s huge because we know diabetes can affect anyone. Literally whoever.
WHOEVER
Another whoever I like to remind myself of is found in the gospel of John. And I love how chapter three of the book of John begins. Nicodemus, a Jewish ruler at the time, approached Jesus at night to find out about Him and the miracles He had been performing. He had become intrigued and wanted to know more. Jesus’ answers to his questions are specific and intentional. And in verse 16 He speaks some of the most often quoted words in the Bible:
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
John 3:16
We could take this verse down a number of roads, talking about God’s grace and forgiveness, His unending love, His incredible generosity, and much more… but today I want to focus on whoever.
With diabetes, we can sometimes get down on ourselves for all the negative things that go with having a chronic illness. The things that make us feel worried and afraid. The physical hardship of being a human pincushion. The things we think we can’t do. But one thing it doesn’t keep us from is God.
When Jesus says “whoever” in this passage, He means literally whoever. Anyone! The girl struggling with her image. The man in a mid-life crisis. The mom at her wits end with the kids. The dad who just lost his job. The woman struggling through addiction. The couple facing financial crisis. A child suffering the loss of a parent. A parent suffering the loss of a child. And people with diabetes and others who push through a chronic illness every day.
It doesn’t matter who you are, what you’ve done, how old you are, what you’ve come through, or what you face now. God is for you. You are a whoever. I am too. And we are all invited to know and believe in God.
Like the example of Nicodemus at the start of John 3, do you approach Jesus to know more? Are you intrigued and want to learn?
Life in this world can make us feel isolated and excluded due to our differences. But God doesn’t exclude us. How does this key verse today give you hope and make a difference in your life?
God, I thank you specifically today for your incredible invitation to know You and trust You and allow You to guide and direct my life. I thank You for the opportunity to believe in You and have eternity with You. Today I pray You would help me lean into You in the hard times with this chronic illness, knowing that You invite me to trust in You through all of it. Thank You for always being with me through it all. Amen.
For Further Reading: John 3
