With Gratitude

“People complain about the bad things that happen to 'em that they don't deserve but they seldom mention the good. About what they done to deserve them things." -Cormac McCarthy, No Country For Old Men 

I've tried to have a good attitude in this past year, but the truth is I have often spent my time complaining about the bad things.  Moaning about how unfair it is to have a disease like Celiac.  I should know better.  I've had the unbelievable pleasure of traveling & living all over the world.  The choices I have in facing this illness are a luxury compared to the choices that more than half the world would have.  I want to take some time on this day of thanks to really focus on the things I should have spent this whole year being grateful for . . . I want to take the time to be in awe of a God that would give me things I've done nothing to deserve.

1)  I am deeply thankful for a diagnosis.  I am no longer desperately trying to understand what is happening to my body.  I am not living in fear of an unnamed enemy.  That moment in February ended over ten years of confusion and increasing desperation.

2)  I am grateful for holistic healing.  I am so lucky to have electricity and access to the internet.  These tools are basically the key that unlocked the secret to my healing.  In a very short period of time I was able to discover AIPaleo, learn about how my whole system was effected by & needed to recover from Celiac disease, & find other people & doctors that could help me achieve that healing.

3)  I am thankful for support.  My husband & daughter have been through the ringer with me in battling autoimmunity & their steadfast devotion knocks my socks off.  Even more, they went on to adopt a totally new way of eating in support of me.  My extended family has also been incredible.  They have done everything from give me a place to stay to lend me an ear when I was down in the dumps.  And then there are all my friends . . . they have listened, offered help, & cheered me on.

4)  I am grateful to be facing autoimmunity in a developed country.  Despite all its shortcomings, having a medical system at all is an unimaginable blessing.  Even more than that, I am grateful that I actually have the choice to eliminate some foods from my diet in order to manage my illness.  I know women in developing countries that only eat squash every day for weeks on end.  They aren't doing it to control illness.  As sad as I have been at times to give up so many of the foods I love, it is a luxury on the highest order that I have this choice.

5)  I am thankful for the foods I can still eat.  I can eat lots of delicious veggies, yummy fish & meats, & sweet fruits.  I can occasionally have a glass of wine and sometimes a few bites of dark delightful chocolate.  I am even more thankful for all the new foods I enjoy because of AIPaleo.  Grass-fed beef is spectacular.  I eat coconut oil on everything.  Spaghetti squash is one of my new faves.

I'm blessed.  I didn't do anything for God to have given me all this.  I don't deserve it, but it is with heartfelt gratitude that I say, "Thanks."