God has unique ways of teaching us lessons, doesn’t He? Back when we had removed all dairy from Brady’s diet, Nate and I would often say things like, “At least it’s not soy! Soy’s in everything.” Or “At least it’s not gluten. Gluten would be hard!”

As it turns out, all of those things we had mentioned are now on Brady’s no-no list of allergens. Every last one we had discussed. Oddly enough, he’s clear to have dairy. (Good thing I’m not an allergist, huh?!)

This past Sunday was our church’s Thanksgiving Dinner. It’s one of my favorite times of year. We get to talk about how good God is, how He’s provided and kept us safe, and we get to eat some of my favorite foods at the same time. What more could you ask for?

I was a bit concerned (OK, more than a bit,) about what Brady would be able to eat, so I made sure to take safe things. One of those things was a modified chocolate cake recipe that I can now successfully make gluten and egg free. He loves it. (It’s actually pretty good.)

Sure enough, as I took Brady through the buffet line, the pickin’s were slim. In the end, his plate had turkey, green beans (that I brought) and a few raw veggies from a relish tray. Thankfully, the promise of his beloved chocolate cake left him undaunted.

Strangely, I was OK with what he got. Why? Because God used a very dear church friend of ours to put things in perspective for me. As I just entered the line, she said, “Good luck finding things Brady can eat.” I proceeded to tell her that I brought some “safe” things. THEN, she added this:

“I don’t know if you’ve heard what’s going on with my husband?”

I said, “All I know is he’s had some tests done.”

“Well, they’ve done a test for prostate cancer, but they’re pretty sure he has diabetes. So, this is all really hard for him today. He keeps saying, ‘I want that.’”

We chatted a few more minutes. I tried to encourage her because both of my parents are now diabetic. I doubt I was successful, because the whole time, I kept thinking, “It could be so much worse for my Brady Boy.”

And it could.

He could have type 1 Diabetes, with pending damage to his little pancreas. He could have cancer eating away at this body. He could have a brain tumor like another dear child we know. But he doesn’t.

He may have a huge list of 28 things he can’t eat, but at least he can eat.

He may have some damage to his intestines due to the gluten allergy, but that should heal. He may even outgrow some of his allergies.

So, I silently praised God that Brady could have turkey and green beans. And his chocolate cake.

Tonight is our annual “praise and pie” service at church. Perhaps I’ll share this then (if I can do it without crying.) But for now, I’m off to attempt to make a gluten-free pie… happily.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 25th, 2008 at 12:50 pm and is filed under Brady, allergies, faith. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.