If you have a child with celiac disease you know how hard it can be at times.
My daughter is eleven years old.
It is hard enough just to be a 6th grade girl.
Add to that something that makes you “different” (the one thing middle school girls don’t want is to be different) and life can be challenging at times.
A good day can suddenly turn into a bad day when the Volleyball coach decides to reward the team with frosted cookies and drinks my daughter cannot have. Or worse yet, when someone brings in Krispy Crème donuts for their birthday celebration at school.
We try to prepare for the challenging situations.
We are as positive as possible about celiac disease and the changes it requires. For every difficulty faced our motto has been “There is Always a Way.”
I encouraged her to start a website (www.glutenfreekid.net) as a way to express her feelings and connect with other celiac kids.
Extra effort is put into showing my daughter there is more to life than just food. We don’t live to eat; we eat so we can live.
I try to make her enough treats and good food that she does not feel deprived. When she got home from the impromptu volleyball party we melted away the tears with a root beer float.
But no matter how hard we try, there just are bad days. Even I have days when I just want to throw the towel in and order a pizza for goodness sakes! Days when I just know that my daughter is sad about having celiac disease.
That is why I was brought to tears last night when my daughter slipped a note under my door. Ever since Alex learned to write, we have this fun game of leaving notes on each other’s beds at night time. If she is having a bad day, this is how I find out. If she was extra nice to her brother or sister during the day, this is how I tell her how much I appreciated it.
Last night, I was in my bed reading and heard the note come under the door . This is what it said:
Dear Mom,
Wow. I have finally realized why I am allergic to gluten.
It was God.
Through God I am going to help others around the world that have celiac. It is like I feel him talking to me and telling me these things.
Through my website I am going to make a difference. I can feel God’s power in me as I write these words. He is moving my hand across the paper
I got an email from an 11 year old girl in Arkansas about my website.
I feel wonderful! God used me to save my life, my Mom’s life and hopefully more people to come.
I have always hated celiac and people have told me it is gonna be okay and I have helped my family eat healthier, but I realized that God has a reason for this. And I promise I am going to make a difference through the power of God.
Love,
Alex
After wiping the tears from my eyes, I slipped my response under her door. It is not fair to Alex if I don’t share it as well:
Dear Alex,
I was so sad when you were sick and then diagnosed with celiac. Not that having celiac is a bad thing, but because I wanted your life to be “normal.” Because I did not want your life to be hard.
Then I started seeing God work in you~us~our family. I started recognizing his foot prints in the gluten free flour spilled on our kitchen floor.
While God wants to share the blessings of this world with you and he is happy when you experience joy, he is more concerned about your character, your everlasting character, than he is with your comfort in this world. A life without opportunity and growth is hardly a life at all.
I am glad that God is working in your life and that you feel wonderful!
Just remember to be patient, God works slowly.
To follow your heart, because God is love.
To not be too discouraged by the hardships (unfortunately, there will probably be more).
It is one of the greatest joys in my life to see God working through you, in you, besides you.
All my Love,
Your Gluten Free Mom
