Faith and Diabetes

Type 1 and LADA Parents of Children with Type 1 Diabetes
1

Just wondering what you all think of this.

My Mom and Dad are very religious and my Mom made a miraculous recovery from Lung Cancer the year my daughter was born. They, along with most of the small town they live in and my mother’s doctors, attribute this to a miracle. I am fine with that. I know it was a miracle and I am of course really glad that she is still here.

Shortly after my daughter Isabelle was diagnosed we had a prayer circle for her and my Mom and Dad’s church as well as our own have her on their prayer list. Right now we are going through some crazy blood glucose numbers that we are having a hard time regulating. I just spoke to my Dad this morning and we of course talked about how Izzy was doing. My Dad has it in his head that nothing that we have been doing has regulated her numbers has worked because God is healing her. As much as I would really LOVE to believe this it just upsets me. I don’t want him saying things like this around her because I don’t want her to get her hopes up or decide that she shouldn’t believe in God because he hasn’t healed her.

2

God helps those who help themselves.

You could really harm your child by relying on prayer rather than educating yourself about what it takes to control blood sugar. Blood sugar responds to how much carbohydrate (sugar and starch) you feed your child and how well you can match it to the amount of insulin you inject, modified by your child’s unique way of responding to insulin

To rely on prayer to control blood sugar is like relying on prayer to control your gas pedal when you are driving on the interstate.

People newly diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes often see a dramatic improvement when they first start insulin–this is called the “Honeymoon.” It is normal and it goes away UNLESS you maintain extremely tight control, which can be very hard to do, especially in a child.

Ask your relatives to pray that you find competent doctors and that you have the strength and devotion to put a lot of time into educating yourself about diabetes so you can get better care for your child than many people do. The quality of care and the energy you put into achieving control are what will save your child.

3

Lisa,

I truly believe that miracles happen. But, I don’t count on them happening.

I pray every single day that my son will be healed. I pray every single day that a cure will be found. And, I know God has the power to do both.

But, I also know that there is a plan for everyone and maybe Riley being healed isn’t in that plan. So, I’ll continue to pray, but I’ll also continue to live life as if he will have this disease forever.

There is absolutly nothing wrong with praying for you child to be healed and believing that it could happen. But, there is something wrong with not caring for your child (checking sugars, giving insulin, etc) while you’re waiting for something that may never come. I know that is not what you are doing. I only typed that for those who might read this and think I’m out of touch with reality because I think God will heal my son.

I don’t neccesarily think God WILL heal my son. I think God CAN heal my son. Does that even make sense?

Anyway, I hope this helps.

4

Hi Lisa,

Wow your post brought up some issues for me! It is pretty common to have periods of “tough times” on insulin therapy. Anytime Izzy goes through a growth spurt, or is getting a cold, her numbers could run very high. All active kids have sporadically low energy days followed by ridiculously high energy days and that will be a challenge to figure out with shots. Any finicky eater will also have some tough times too!

Also someone said something about Honeymoon, which is a period of time when her body is still making insulin which will make you believe you have it all under control because her bs numbers will be good most of the time and she will have a pretty high sensitivity to insulin and a low sensitivity to glucose. That honeymoon will eventually go away no matter what kind of control she maintains, and will make her sensitivity, need for basal, and carb ratios change.

With that said – if God was healing her, she would run very low bs numbers on insulin to a point where she needed less and less until no more was needed. I too hope that is the case but you are the one with the blood glucose meter and you should be able to tell the difference by testing!

It was that last line that got to me – I was very angry at myself and God for years over my diabetes. It took a long time to realize that I have to make the best of my abilities and figure out why I was put here and what to do with my life.

Can I make a suggestion? Please review her trends with a CDE and endo and also have this discussion with them! All the best! Joe

5

Lisa

Prayer is helpful. I am an observant Jew, orthodox, and we are taught that prayer is more then asking for something in time of need but also giving thankx everyday for what we have.

Will prayer give you a cure? I dont think so. Will prayer help you find your path through this and give you the strength needed to get through it? I think that is much more likely.

Arthur

6

Thanks everyone for your reply. I am most definately doing everything that I can to keep her in good control, because like you Jenny, I believe that God helps those who help themselves. She is only 4 so I am mostly in control of what she is offered food wise and we keep close control on her insulin/carb ratios. We are working closely with our Endo and I fax her numbers in at least weekly. I think that is why it is so hard to understand when we can’t keep her numbers close to where we want them. I know that she is going to flucuate everytime she has a growth spurt (which is what I think is going on now) or whenever she catches a cold.

We do pray every day for a cure and we also give thanks that our child has Diabetes and not something as easily treated. When Isabelle was in the hospital when she was first diagnosed her room was on the same floor as the Cancer unit. Talk about something to give you some perspective.

I’m not really sure why I started this discussion except that I was really upset and needed to vent to someone other then people who were really close to me. Thank you all for replying. It was nice to not feel quite so alone. Penny, I believe that miracles happen too or I would have just blown my Dad off. Joe, thanks for the advise. I have been sending Isabelle’s numbers in regularly and talking with my Endo’s office often. The thing that sucks right now is that they can’t figure out what to do to get her numbers in line right now either. Arthur, we most definately been using prayer to help us through this. If we haven’t I don’t know that my marriage would have survived this long. I am very lucky that in my church we have two other girls that have Type 1 and they are further down this road then we are and they have been very helpfu… Church has definately been helping us a lot in getting though this.

Thanks again for answering. It’s great to know that there are others out there that have been pondering this question too.

7

Hi Lisa:

While your concerns are valid, as well as serious, I was reminded of a joke I heard some 25 years ago:

A town was experiencing a flood. Many of the towns people had to climb on top of their houses in order to stay out of the flood waters. Bob, a very religous man, was one of them. As rescuers in boats arrived to assist the home owners, Bob told them to rescue some one else because God would save him. The waters continued to rise causing Bob to climb to the peak of his roof. Another boat arrived, but Bob refused their assistance and told them that God would save him. As the flood waters rised to Bob’s waist, a helicopter with a rope laddrer arrived to rescue him. Again, Bob refused assistance while prclaiming that God would rescue him. Bob drowned. As he entered heaven, a troubled and confused Bob approached God and asked him why he allowed him to drown. Didn’t God know that Bob had proclaimed to those arround him that God would save him? God also looked confused and troubled. He looked at Bob and responded, “I sent you two boats and a helicopter, what more did you want?”

God has given us brains, doctors, prayer, etc. all for us to use to help ourselves, as well as to rely on him.

8

Hi Lisa-
Reading your post brought back memories from my school days. I was diagnosed with diabetes when I was 11.
I had days when I wondered if God hated me or if I was “holy/rightous” enough to be healed or if people were saying the “right” prayer for me or enough people were praying.
You’ll have to do your best to protect her from people who make insensitive comments like “You’ve got to have some hidden sin you’re not confessing, that’s why God hasn’t healed you yet.” Basically anything Job’s friends said to him during his trial. (I think I’ve heard them all by now)
Remind her constantly that God loves her, that she’s His Beloved, that he Knit her together in her mother’s womb, that He knows the plans He has for her, Plans to prosper, not to harm. etc
It took me until college to grasp that truth. I still remember the song we were singing when everything clicked:
“I am your beloved, your creation and you love me as I am. You have called me chosen for your kingdom, unashamed to call me your own. I am your beloved.” Diabetes and all, I am God’s Beloved. I pray your daughter doesn’t have to wait until college before she figures that out.

9

Rainbow, I’m glad you said that that commonly used phrase is not actually in the Bible. I believed it was, all of my life, until I joined my chuch and found out a lot of stuff people say and attribute to God - is not in the Bible. My favorite is “God will not put more on you than you can bear”. My pastor says - um, yes he will. He does that at times so you will go to him and know that he is the only way you can see through whatever trial/tribulation you are going through is through him.

10

Lisa,

24 years ago I was diagnosed. My parents were out of the country and I was under the care of my Southern Baptist grandparents. I make this point because they are frequent visitors of revivials where they claim to have seen faithful people regain their sight and walk out of a wheel chair and drop their cane, etc. I on the other hand am a devout Catholic that has never really believed in that aspect of religion. When I was in the hospital years ago with the g-parents they called all of their prayer group friends and their minister begging for a miracle. Didn’t happen. To this day they believe it’s because I am Catholic and I don’t read the Bible enough. Whatever.

What my faith taught me then, and I still believe today is this. God is ultimately good. He put some really intelligent docs on this Earth to help treat those of us that need it. There is so much research happening right now, it’s amazing. What I pray for every day is for those smart docs to keep working hard to find a cure. I ask God to give me the strength to LIVE with diabetes and not let it get the best of me. I want your daughter to be standing in line with me when they find a cure. And the more your parents pray for that cure, the sooner it will happen. The more we all pray for strength to fight the daily battles of diabetes, it becomes easier to see we are not alone.

Good luck

11

WOW - Lisa, I joined because of you and one of the first forums I looked at is by you!

Here’s how I feel about it. For a while I prayed constantly that God would heal my daughter completely, however, although I trust God completely, she still has diabetes. I truly and with all my heart believe that God is an all powerful, loving God. And yes, He heals. However, He also does not make mistakes. Well, I was struggling with “why doesn’t he heal her when I’ve prayed and trusted?” Then the Lord lead me to this passage… - . In the Bible (John 9:1-15), Jesus was walking with his disciples when they came upon a man that was blind from birth and the disciples asked Him “Master, who did this sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?” And Jesus replied, " Neither has this man sinned, nor his parents, but that the works of God should be made manifest in him." God allows us to have weaknesses, sickness and sorrow for a reason - to glorify Him. I feel that God has allowed my daughter to continue to have diabetes so that she can trust in him, and use that as a witness for others who do not believe. So now, my prayer has changed - now I pray that she will grow stronger in the Lord and allow it to lead others to Jesus because of her diabetes. Not only does God NOT make mistakes, there is a big misconception about faith healing. “For by Grace you are saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God has before ordained that we should walk in them” (Ephesian 2:13) Therefore, it is not OUR great faith that heals. We have no power to do that, Only God, with His power and HIS will - will heal. I could completely believe that I can move a chair by my faith, and it will still not happen, only God can do miracles, and just because I believe that, doesn’t mean that it is His will to do it. Like in the passage I quoted, God allowed the blindness to happen so that HE could be glorified. We have faith when we accept the illness and trust God to lead us through it. We find the Holy Spirit when we accept that we can no longer do things on our own and that it can only be done through Him. One of my favorite verses is this - “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things unseen” - Hebrews 11:1. I believe that God is in control, that he will walk beside my daughter and our family through all the hardships of diabetes. I believe that “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, and are called according to HIS purpose.” (Romans 8:28). And finally, I believe that it is His purpose is for Alexa to have Diabetes - with all the ups and downs and bad sugars, etc, and because its His purpose, and she loves God, that it will all work out for good - hers and His.

So, I think what your dad is saying is disturbing - its sounds faithful, and perhaps it is, but like I said, faith is also trusting completely that God wil see you through the hard times, not just remove you from them. And if it became an issue with her, that you should just explain it to her that God has a reason for her to have diabetes, and she has to trust in God herself that He will be with her throughout her life and that’s how she can trust Him. Your dad doesn’t understand that the crazy numbers are all a part of diabetes with children - it only stresses the reality of it.

Love,
Lisa W

12

Lisa, Thanks for joining and thanks for replying to my post. Thanks for the kind words. We are working on being better christians this year and Izzy is loving all of the church activities. My parents really mean well, and so far they haven’t said anything upsetting in front of Izzy. I know that they only want the best for her. Thanks for all of the passages. I do prey every day that God will guide up through this crazy disease. I have seen his work in my little girl and in our family. Thanks for the kind thoughts.

13

Lisa W., I’m speechless. What you said touched me in so many ways. First as a diabetic for over 20 years, your words remind me of why I keep going every day. It would be easier sometimes to just give up and let this disease take over my life. But, after reading your message, I’m reminded why I am a person LIVING with diabetes, not being controlled by it.

Secondly, our eight year old daughter was recently diagnosed with ADD. My parents have been very vocal blaming my husband for her struggles. So, now we’re having to do dammage control with a very emotional and sensitive little girl. If you don’t mind, I’m going to use a lot of what you’ve said to remind my parents that it’s not worth placing blame. Nothing good will come out of pointing fingers. We just need to work as a team to get through this. With the help of God.

14

We have a similar problem with my very religous in-laws. I usually have to bite my tounge before swearing at them. I believe in God, I beleive He can heal - but I’m not putting life on hold waiting for it. And I’m certainly going to continue with the insulin injections. I’d love to see the day when they’re not needed any more. But that’s not today.

Unfortunately dd’s grandparents should be a great source of support for us, and in learning how to care for her she could have time with them alone. BUT the MIL won’t even accept that dd’s got a serious conditon, won’t talk about it, and won’t let me say that dd’s got diabetes. MIL won’t follow the rules for diet, blood tests etc. so I can’t trust her. And she’s here once a month trying to take the kids of to the park or shopping to “give me a rest”. How can I rest and let her take them? So I end up having to go along to.

15

Lisa, I would love to chat with you. I just read your blog and could relate to your statement about not wanting your daughter to get her hopes up for healing and not be able to believe in Him because she hasn’t been. I have the same struggle. While, I know that God heals, I also know that people die everyday and live with chronic illnesses their whole lives. My son, Reed, is 5 and has been a diabetic since he was 3 and we have had the hardest time. I have often said that it would have been easier if we didn’t believe that God heals because the diagnosis wouldn’t have been so devastating. However, we do believe that He heals and desperately want Him to heal Reed, but we also have to go on and love God no matter what. We have told Reed that we choose to love God even if He never heals him and that God loves him just as much as the people who are healed.

16

I would love to chat with you, because it seems that you have a better grasp of the situation than I do. Check out my response to the original blog and you will see what I mean. What you said has really made me feel a bit better about our situation.

17

You need to deal with this condition and not rely on the false hope that some supernatural being will miraculously cure it. It won’t. No-one has ever been cured of this condition because there is no cure unfortunately, so the best we can do is deal with it using the “miraculous” insulin or pills and manage our blood sugars to the best of our ability.

To put any kind of medical condition in the hands of religion is ridiculous, and at worst, dangerous.

18

we believe that God fully knows what He is doing, even when He allowed our six year old to have type 1. when she was in the hospital getting poked at every hour or so that was hard to believe. i also know that He was with me in her room that night. the first night in the hospital was the lowest point of my life, so far. she was finally asleep, the floor was relatively quiet and i was alone for the first time since ‘the news’. i cried and He heard me.

i know that abby has someone to meet or inspire through this that she would not have met otherwise and that keeps us going. i know she inspires me daily.

yes, i want God to heal her - that’s a no-brainer. will we stop asking? no way. do we appreciate when people pray for us? of course. God is bigger than all religious stuff and bigger than my doubts and even bigger than any sort of judgement. i do not expect God to obey me and that’s my condensed opinion!

19

In my country we are relegious,praying on daily basis and beleive in God,the creator of this universe,many parents of my diabetic children will take their children to healers beleiving that they will cure them.On first weeks of diagnosis I emphasize the importance of accepting fate and working to make the children get the best care to lead a normal life,and to pray that the family and the children will be able to do that .

20

I agree with Sohair.

I am a Christian, and I know my God has a plan why I have this disease. Hands down, I know He wants to heal. But that does not mean to say that I should forget about taking my medications, diet, and discipline. I always pray that if I can’t have this disease cured, at least I could afford all of my medication and stuff. If anyone could recall the feeding of the five thousand miracle in the Bible, they worked with the little–five loaves of bread and two fishes–they had. My desire to be better and my tenacity at my regimen is the little that I have. He can take it from there…

And that brings hope across my face each and everytime…