Being Thankful

Week 3: LEARN
Sunday, November 21

Being Thankful – It’s almost Thanksgiving. What are you thankful for? Has diabetes helped you realize your appreciation for anything?

A sign in front of a church in town recently read: "Don't have anything to be thankful for? Check your pulse."  =)

Aside from being alive and relatively healthy, I'm thankful for all of my family, friends, and my husband.  I'm  lucky to have so many loving people in my life, and I enjoy every minute spent with them.

I'm thankful that I have a roof over my head that we're paying a mortgage payment on instead of renting.

I'm thankful to have a car that gets me where I need to go, even though it's 13 years old and has almost 210,000 miles on it.

I'm thankful that I have a job that allows me to work with my family...and the benefits don't hurt, either!

Which leads me to this: I'm thankful to have health insurance.  Very, very thankful, especially over the past few months.

Diabetes has made me realize that a chronic illness doesn't have to interfere with your quality of life, and for that I'm glad--As the CDE (Certified Diabetes Educator) said in our Diabetes Education Class last week, "It may not seem like it, but you're lucky to have diabetes today"...and it's so, so true.  I feel very thankful for today's technology and the improvements made in the last couple of decades on diabetes management.  If I would have been diagnosed even 10 years ago, I wouldn't have so much control over my disease, but now it's a very manageable chronic illness.

Having diabetes has made me realize that I shouldn't take anything for granted, especially my health...But even if your health is jeopardized in some way, I've also learned that it doesn't have to take over your life.  You might have a disease, but the disease doesn't have to have you!

I'm thankful for my dad and sister too, and everyone else in my extended family with diabetes, because even though I wouldn't wish this disease on anyone, it made it easier on me knowing that there were other people in my family going through the same thing I am.  It's a club that you never want to belong to, but that welcomes you with open arms and a great support basis when you find yourself suddenly one of its members.

I'm thankful for all of the researchers and doctors working to develop a cure for diabetes and all of the ways they improve our lives with their technology.  Our future really is in their hands--they have the power to make millions of lives better through their discoveries.

Last but certainly not least, I'm so thankful for God's help in getting through this, and for our wonderful church family.  Faith is always there for you, even when it seems like you're alone!