Even as I celebrated 30 years living with type 1 diabetes, even with a journalism degree, and even with an Irish storyteller’s heart all my life, I never planned to write a diabetes book. I hadn’t thought about it even once. The idea never crossed my mind.
It wasn’t until I was doing an online Bible reading plan with my husband and his sister last year that the idea came to me. We were making our way through the gospel of John together, and part of one reading changed my perspective on diabetes forever.
As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”
John 9:1-3
“Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him.”
After reading each day’s chapter, we would post our thoughts in a group chat. This was my response that day:
I have always wondered why I have diabetes that I manage every hour of every day. No one else in my family has type 1, I didn’t do anything to bring it on, and doctors have told me they don’t really know either. But we live in a world full of sickness and disease. And perhaps God allowed it because He wants me to glorify Him through it like He did with the blind man in John 9.
When I am running high and feel like I have the flu, God is still good. When I can’t yet eat because my number is high, God is still good. When I’m low and drinking a juice box like I’m a four-year-old kid, God is still good. When I’m counting carbs for my insulin dose, God is still good.
Maybe His plan is to use it to shape and mold me to bring Him glory. Our struggles are not for nothing. He can use anything He wants!
CHANGE IN PERSPECTIVE
This shifted my view of diabetes entirely. Previously, I was focused on dealing with highs and lows, and managing my disease as best I could (which, of course, I still do). But this new perspective has me thinking of ways I can point people to Jesus through it all.
How can I use the talents and gifts God has given me, along with the challenges of this disease, to point people to Him and give Him glory?
With this new perspective in mind, I started to think of ways I could use the skills and abilities He has gifted to me in ways that would be a gift to Him in return. Perhaps one way I can do that is by sharing real-life examples of diabetes with a Biblical perspective through this new devotional.
I do feel that I need to let you know that, although I am a pastor’s wife, I’m not a pastor myself. I’m just a storyteller by nature who loves Jesus and lives with diabetes. I’m simply trying to take my experience with type 1, view it through the lens of the Bible, apply what I learn to my life, and share it with you.
My hope is not only will this diabetes book glorify God, but it will also help you stay connected to the truth. This disease is a challenge, but being connected to the source of life is what gets us through. In all the storms we face, we are firm and secure when we are anchored in Him.
So that’s the story of how this diabetes book came to be. And it’s just one example about how God’s Word is alive and active. He reached me that day through this beautiful story of redemption in John 9, and He encouraged me to give Him glory through the midst of a chronic illness by writing a book.
What’s in the book?
Complete with 30 days of devotions, this book also includes:
- personal stories
- biblical application
- reflection questions
- additional suggested readings
- room for notes and prayers
I pray God will use all these things to work in you and allow you a glimpse of His never-ending goodness through it all. Even in the face of a chronic illness like diabetes, He is still good and we can be anchored in Him through it all.
Get your copy today on Amazon.
Have you read the book? I would love to hear your feedback. Please share with me.
OTHER POSTS TO ENJOY:
