I lift my eyes up ...

Last sunday (8/17) I was in Ohio at King's Island with a few friends of mine. I had made the trip out to Ohio on Friday to visit them before summer came to an end. After the fun-filled day at the amusement park we headed to the car and I called my mom to see how everyone was doing. She picked up the phone and I could hear in her voice that something was incredibly wrong. She told me that Emily was in the ICU (intensive care unit) and that she had Diabetes I (juvenile).

Earlier that week mom had noticed some unusual things in Emily (excessive thirst and weight loss) and suspected something was wrong. So, earlier that morning at church she had a friend (who is also diabetic) bring his glucose meter (which checks your blood sugar levels) to test emily's blood sugar levels to see if diabetes was a possibility. So away they checked and quickly found out that Emily was in serious trouble. A good blood sugar level should be somewhere around 100, she was at 510. They immediately rushed her to the ER and the doctors quickly sent her to the ICU. I'm so thankful that the Lord gave my mom these hunches, because in most cases you find out that someone has juvenile diabetes when they go into a coma first. God spared Emily and i'm so grateful.

Emily spent Sunday and Monday in the ICU and is now home learning how to cope and adapt.

For those of you that don't know, juvenile diabetes is the most rare and the most serious of cases compared to diabetes II, monogenic diabetes and gestational diabetes. And it's also irreversible unlike diabetes II

Type 1 diabetes occurs when the body's immune system attacks and destroys certain cells in the pancreas, an organ about the size of a hand that is located behind the lower part of the stomach. These cells -- called beta cells -- are contained, along with other types of cells, within small islands of endocrine cells called the pancreatic islets. Beta cells normally produce insulin, a hormone that helps the body move the glucose contained in food into cells throughout the body, which use it for energy. But when the beta cells are destroyed, no insulin can be produced, and the glucose stays in the blood instead, where it can cause serious damage to all the organ systems of the body. For this reason, people with type 1 diabetes must take insulin in order to stay alive. This means undergoing multiple injections daily, or having insulin delivered through an insulin pump, and testing their blood sugar by pricking their fingers for blood six or more times a day.

When I first found out that Emily was in the ICU my heart stopped, tears poured and I asked God three things. WHY diabetes Lord? WHY am I here in Ohio and not home with her? WHY are you giving me another challenge?
Even though I don't understand at times why the Lord chooses to do things, there are a few things that I do know and understand at my God.

My God is sovereignly in control. God loves Emily. My God does all things to bring himself glory. And if God wants to use this situation to bring himself glory, then glory I shall give Him.

It's been a hard week, i'm not going to lie. But in the midst of cloud that seems to hover over my head, the Lord shines through and is giving all of us faith, hope and trust. For now and for Emily's life in the future.

I finally came home on wednesday, mom picked me up at the airport. As I walked out I caught mom's eyes and started bawling. Mom said, "Stop, Emily doesn't want you to cry." So, I cried the whole ride home from midway, and composed myself before getting out of the car. I can't tell you how bitter-sweet it felt to be home, I dropped my luggage and went up to Emily's room, sat on her bed (she was asleep) and held her hand and told her how much I loved her and how much I missed her. God has blessed me with such an amazing set of parents and such lovely sisters that I adore.

The Lord is going to do great things through this challenge and I am going to wait and readily expect them. God is good.