A Christmas Note on Diabetes and Happiness

Diabetes is a hideous condition. It initiates a slow chronic destruction of the body that leads to blindness, blood and vessel diseases, amputations, kidney failure, stroke, or nerve damage. Only a madman would choose this condition. Oh yeah, no one chooses diabetes. It is a disorder of metabolism.

In short, our body prepares glucose from the food we eat, and places it in the blood stream. When the metabolism works properly, glucose leaves the blood stream, passes through the cell walls to become fuel in the cell machinery in order to maintain our life functions. If this continues to operate flawlessly, presumably it is a gift to live forever.

With diabetes present, the cell does not admit the correct amount of glucose from the blood stream into our cells. The cells become undernourished, weak and cannot sustain its functions to grow and regenerate. The immune system views these weaken cells as alien toxic agents. Attacks them and destroys them.

Diabetes does not run in my family line nor is it contagious. But one can get it many ways. In fact, it plays peek-a-boo with me. I was diagnosed pre-diabetic after having taken drugs to treat the illness that drove me into early retirement. But I monitor this condition religiously. As I previously suggested, with this knowledge, only a madman would fail to address this threat. So, I wage the most aggressive battle I can. I read about it almost every day, I follow a special diet and I exercise in order to separate myself from the onslaught of this destructive condition.

Life is interesting. Pay close attention to it and you will see that it plays the same performances on many different stages. That's the theme of self-similarity in mathematics. Okay - enough of that, so let's talk about Christmas.

Christmas has arrived again. It's that magical time of the year that seems to take our minds off the world condition. We enliven our homes inside and out. In a similar way, people light up their personalities. Some wear Santa hats, decorate their cars with things Christmas, and their faces effuse a joyous hello or Merry Christmas! An even smaller number of them open their homes to host grand parties. During these once-a-year open house parties, guests experience warm merriment. And gifts are exchanged.

Gifts from someone special are valued and cherished. But gifts from someone with whom there is no special connection tend to be placed aside. I will let you provide the details on how such gifts are treated.

When I was a child, Christmas meant gifts! But for my parents, it was a time of rejoicing and celebration. Since I have aged to grandfather-hood, Christmas confers on me that feeling to rejoice and to celebrate. Rejoice to celebrate God's fulfillment of His promise to provide a savior to redeem the world condition. The coming of Jesus and his sacrifice is God's gift for spiritual salvation into an eternal life of happiness.

The diabetes and Christmas scenarios are similar performances that Life plays on different stages. In Christmas scenario, the gift of God is a spiritual glucose; destined to enter spiritual cells to give them eternal life. We are the spiritual cells. Cells that have not admitted the spiritual glucose suffer with spiritual diabetes. But God has made available to the world spiritual insulin. It is available through His Scriptures, repelled only by resistant cell.

Diabetes, though hideous, has a happy story ending. Through a committed lifestyle change: health eating habits, daily exercise, ever attention to blood sugar level, continuous learning about the condition, taking prescribed medication daily; the afflicted can live a happy and prosperous life. Some have come to see diabetes as a blessing. These special ones believe their life change ushered them to a position of mastery of their life situation. They plan, control, and implement their own well-being. They are the kings within their lives.

Spiritual diabetes is similarly conquered. A committed life change and constant education of its benefits through Scriptures opens the new person to spiritual insulin. From which flows spiritual blessings, spiritual comfort, salvation, and a peace beyond understanding - in other words, happiness.

Conquer diabetes! Take the insulin:

1. Acts 2:21.

2. Roman 10:9.

3. Joel 2:28-32.

Merry Christmas. Instead I should say, "I wish you happiness".