I have recently diagnosed myself with emotional diabetes. And yes, I did just make that term up. It makes complete sense though. A phrase often used to describe diabetes is ‘starvation in the midst of plenty’. There is loads of sugar in the blood but the cells are dying because the sugar can’t get from the blood into the cells.
This has been me the last little while. I am swimming in blessings – pressed down, shaken together and running over I am blessed. But those blessings are not in my heart. My heart focuses on the one or two small things which are not going so well. I am starving for joy in the midst of so many blessings.
So how do we manage our diabetes?
Diabetics do two main things. They manage their lifestyle – healthy eating, exercise and weight control. And they take their medication – either pills or insulin injections depending on the type of diabetes.
We need to do the same thing.
Lifestyle modification – we watch what we eat emotionally. Are we putting in good healthy things? Are we thinking on what is good, lovely and pure? Are we watching or reading or talking about things which uplift us or which drag us down? Exercise – are we practising the fruit of the Spirit? Do we expend energy on others?
And what is the medication we need to take; that which will move the blessings from around us into our hearts? I believe it is thanksgiving. Regularly fostering an attitude of thankfulness.
The thing about insulin is that it has to be kept at a specific temperature and taken every day; sometimes 3-4 times a day. It has to be injected and that can hurt and it has to be monitored to make sure it is working. It is hard work being on insulin. But if you are diabetic, you need it to survive.
Thanksgiving is the same. It takes discipline to cultivate; it has to be practiced every day – sometimes more than once a day. It requires that we recognize our sinful attitude of ingratitude and repent from it. We can ask our friends to help monitor us – tell us when we are not taking our medication properly.
Being thankful is hard work. But it will refresh our hearts and help us survive. Yes it is tough but as always there is a song to help us do it!
Count your blessings name them one by one
Count your blessings see what God has done
Count your blessings name them one by one
And it will surprise you what the Lord has done