Tag: diabetes journey

Posted in Scripture, life, Integrity, spiritual battles, food, patience

Bread, Potatoes and Pecan Pie

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

 “The One who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” 1 John 4:4b

It was several years ago and it came in the mail.  It was an advertisement, an offer really, to join a program that would not only help me control my diabetes but to reverse it.  If everything went according to plan, I could come off both of my diabetic meds and lose the “I’m diabetic” label.  There were two more things.  First, thanks to my insurance program, it would be provided to me at absolutely no cost to me.  I’m sure it is costing my insurance plenty, but the price for me was paid in full…hmmm, can someone else besides me see a parallel there.  Can someone say, grace, mercy, and Jesus?

The second thing was that the program would provide several things they called sensors…I call them gadgets.  First, there was one of those totally cool glucose monitors that you wear and through your smartphone it tells you on the fly what your sugar level is.  Second, was a Garmin activity tracker that tells you all kind of stuff…more on that in a later story.  Third, was a scale that not only tells you your weight but also how much body fat you have.  This one, for obvious reasons, was not one of my favorites. Number four on the list was a meter that tells me if I have too many ketones.  I’m not sure what they do or what they are but I know you don’t want too many of them.  Finally, there was a blood pressure “taker thinger” and it does just what it says.  What also made the cool list is the fact that all of these things talk to an application on my phone and all that information is compiled and it tells me, and them, if I am failing or succeeding.

So, there you go.  No diabetes, no cost, lots of gadgets and only one problem.  When I talked to the nice lady on the phone, she told me there wouldn’t be a lot of weird food like tofu or jellyfish eggs.  What she didn’t tell me was that there wouldn’t be any really good food on the program either.  Well, to be fair, that is not totally true.  In fact, there are a lot of foods that I can eat and some a southern boy like me even like but there was no bread, no potatoes, no anything that had carbohydrates in them—and that is about every good thing besides meat and eggs.  Hmmm…we have a problem.

Now all this was made worse by the fact that I had my sugar 100% under control.  I turned the sweets thing almost totally off and cut way back on the starchy stuff and my sugar quickly plummeted.  Thank you, sir…mission accomplished…but not quite.  You see, if you remember my new friends want me to get off medicine. However to get off the medicine, I have to give up a whole category of stuff that I love and have loved all my life.  The problem is I am quite content to take a couple of pills if they will allow me to eat some of my favorites.  I am quite willing to let the two, my self-control and my medicine, work together.  Honestly, it would probably be better for me to ditch the medicines but no bread, no potatoes, and worst of all, no, none, never pecan pie.  What?

I think this is just a human nature thing and as you know our human nature can get us in trouble.  Another name for our human nature is our sinful nature and our sinful nature wants us to sin—maybe not a whole lot but at least some of our favorites.  We usually think the price is worth it.  So, we control this and control that but often refuse to take the giant leap into total surrender.  I know there is a difference between indulging in bread and lust or potatoes and anger but the principle is the same.  We want what we want—even if the price is high and it is.

Well, the bottom line is the program did work…even with my compromising attitude. I know that wasn’t the best solution but regardless that was where I landed.  But hear me clearly—that does not work with sin.  With sin the best thing you can do is run fast and hard in the opposite direction.  Remember this…sin will always win, and it will take you further and cost you more than you think.  That is why our Father sent His Son, that is why the Son died and resurrected and that is why we need Him to rescue and save us.

Listen, all the cool sin gadgets in the world aren’t worth what they cost in the end.  It will cost you a whole lot more than a pile of mashed potatoes.  Just remember, what you can’t do on your own, you can do with Him. 1 John 4:4b says, “The One who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.”  In other words, “He’s got this.”  Bro. Dewayne 

Posted in communication, food, life, priorities, Scripture

Here to Help–Not to Hurt!

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

 “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, to be with you forever.”  John 14:15-16

Ok…just one more…I promise.  This week I wrote a story about a new adventure I had with a company that helps people like me reverse their diabetes.  If you haven’t read the first two, why not wander over to http://www.gritswithgrace.com and check them out.  You will find out there were some highs and lows.  A couple of times, within the first couple of minutes, I was ready to chuck the whole thing out the window. But then, when I had a few minutes to think about it, it began to make at least some sense. 

I wrote about all the cool gadgets that this company gave me to help monitor where I was in the journey.  I have access to the information but so do they…and they are watching.  So far…they must have liked what they’ve seen because they said I am doing very well. One of the reasons for that is this gadget called a Dextron G6.  It is a continuous glucose (or blood sugar) monitor.  Every five minutes it tells the wearer their sugar level.  When you eat, you can see in just a little while what that meal did to your blood sugar levels.

It is interesting to eat, wait, and watch for the results.  You eat some bad stuff (usually bad for your sugar level but good for your tongue) and before long your sugar level is up where it doesn’t belong.  You see it and so do the folks at this company.  When I see it, my response is, “Wow, I guess I shouldn’t have eaten that…or at least not so much of that.” Usually that leads to a second response that asks the question, “Was is worth it?”  When my coach at the company saw it, she would gently nudge me in a better direction.  The goal is to make a better decision next time…and that sounds fair to me.

Did you know we Jesus followers have something like this when it comes to doing life? Yup…we sure do.  You see, our monitor that tells us how we are doing is called the Word of God, or the Bible. This marvelous Book is not a book of rules but rather a guidebook, a roadmap for doing life.  And, if we are wise, we will read and then follow it.  It really helps (and this is just like the monitor thingy) to see the Bible as a friend and not an enemy—not just rules but helps. So, when we decide to go down a path that is not good for us, what we know and what we can know, will help us make better decisions.  It gets better.

You see not only do we have the Book, we have a Coach to help us and encourage us and He is called the Holy Spirit. One of His jobs is to help us see our sin as sin and point us in a better direction. And, by the way, we must not see Him as an enemy but rather a friend, a dear friend who never wants to hurt but always wants to help us.  Jesus described it like this, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, to be with you forever.”  What a great word…Helper. So, from where I sit, two of the best decisions we can make as Jesus’ people is to know, trust, and follow God’s Word and then listen, obey, and trust the Holy Spirit.

When we start to believe that God is for us and not against us, when we start to believe that God’s Word can be trusted, and when we start to believe that the Holy Spirit is here to help and not to hurt, well, I think life is just about to get better…a lot better.  I saw some pretty cool results from my diabetes wellness adventure, and it all began when I started watching and trusting the gadgets they gave me and believing my coach was my friend.  It is true with them, and it is true with God. He is worthy of our trust, and He will be there for us…always.  Don’t you doubt it for a minute—He’s got this.  Bro. Dewayne

Posted in Family, forgiveness, Grace, gratitude, Integrity, life, prayer, priorities, Scripture, thankful, Trials

Dusty Neglect

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

For the Lord your God is the One who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory.” Deuteronomy 20:4

There it sat…unattended and unused.  I started this year on a roll. I checked my blood sugar one morning and was rather shocked at the result.  That caused me to take a quick assessment of my health and every indicator said it was time to do something…so I did. I kick started my walking regime, made a lot of correct decisions about ending my love affair with carbs and over all began to live healthier.  The results were not necessarily quick, but they were steady.  Before too long, my sugar levels were better, my weight was better, my energy level was better and obviously I felt better.  And as we all know…better is better.

By May, I was a new guy.  All the health coach people were applauding my results but oddly enough my success started me down the same old path to bad habits.  It is kinda like the day after Christmas—you know, the emotional letdown after so much hype.  At first the negative effects were there but they were not gigantic.  But as the snowball rolled down the hill it got bigger and bigger and today, I decided to do something.  That something was to step on the scale that had been sitting quietly between the toilet and the vanity. As I stepped on, I was saddened and discouraged by what I saw. My, my, how the mighty can fall.

After I had stepped on the scale, I later went back into the bathroom and that is when I noticed it.  The scale was covered with dust and water stains—all the signs of neglect. It had become nothing more than a part of the floor.  I decided there and then to pick it up and clean it up.  It was a starting point…a declaration that enough just might be enough. The message was clear—the dust was a message, a sign that it was time to do something different.

We all have items around our house that have become dust collectors. Some matter and some really don’t.  But let me ask you a question.  What about the spiritual things, the spiritual markers of your life?  If you looked, would you find your Bible covered with dust or buried with a pile of magazines on the end table?  If you use your phone, is the Bible shortcut tucked away in some forgotten folder?  If you are a YouVersion fan, would you find your reading plans declaring way too many days behind?

Now I didn’t type that as a guilt trip—I typed it as a fellow traveler, who in another area of his life found some dust where it doesn’t belong.  I typed it because you, me, all of us at one time or another find ourselves just a little sloppy in the things that matter.  Hey, instead of waiting for the New Year to resolve to do this or that, why not take an inventory of the things collecting dust in your life and maybe, just maybe, let today be the day you decide to get out the dust rag.

One thing I love about God is that no matter what the mess, He is never disappointed in me but rather He is constantly and consistently for me and not against me. I faced a giant today and although mine is a physical thing, it has spiritual overtones. How about yours?  As you look around and poke around, just know that your Dearest Daddy is your biggest fan and no matter what…He’s got this.  Bro. Dewayne