For some, a drastic change in health habits is very difficult. For me, it was a matter of life or death. One day I lived my normal life. The next I found my health shackled by sickness.
I’ve already outlined the story of how my mysterious disease has never been completely diagnosed. In a nut shell, it was like having the stomach flu for weeks and months on end.
Soon after doctors found that part of it was due to food allergies, corn, soy and wheat soon became my mortal enemies, and my wife and I now had to comb the list of ingredients on products to make sure they didn’t contain anything detrimental to my health. My wife bore the brunt of it, having to cook meals tailored to my new dietary needs.
Having food allergies isn’t an easy cross to bear. It’s a badge of shame to the one who wears it and a badge of weakness to those who look on. I constantly felt that discomfort while eating out, especially since people in my social circles didn’t understand why I couldn’t eat like they did.
I use the word discomfort because that was all it was. It wasn’t a major issue. It was simply a splinter in my pride that irritated life sometimes. However, it did convince me to eat out much less.
There’s a bright side to all this. I’ve lived with this sickness for over a decade now, and I’ve discovered something: sickness brings a greater awareness of health. The fact is I’m in much better health now than I’ve ever been before.
Although my disease has gone undiagnosed, I’ve had to adjust the way I live, not just in my diet, but in the entire sphere of life. When before I tended to be a couch potato and bookworm, I now work out daily and try to keep my mind on accomplishing desired tasks.
I’m much further ahead now that I’ve seen that life is too fragile to waste. I feel better because I’ve seen what it’s like to have a debilitating disease and that it’s possible to overcome life’s hurdles no matter how high or how many.
However, the greatest lesson I’ve learned is dependence. No matter how much we would like to believe we are masters of our fate, we do depend on many. My wife, for one, had to take care of me. There were days when I wouldn’t have gotten out of bed had it not been for her.
But the greatest dependence I’ve learned is that of waiting on God. That disease gave me pause to rethink how important He is in my life. Had it not been for difficulty, I would never have learned the lesson of dependence on God for life’s little blessings.
