The Beginning

At an alarming rate, we are watching as millions of Americans are afflicted and diseased because their own immune systems have suddenly, without explanation, turned and made their own organs and tissues their target.  This bizarre phenomenon known as autoimmune disease is on the rise, and it is now dramatically debilitating the lives and futures of our children.  Autoimmune disease, which includes: Type 1 Diabetes,  Ulcerative colitis, Lupus, Crohn's disease, Grave’s disease and Rheumatiod arthritis (to name a few) is becoming more and more common and even accepted by our society. The question is, as parents, is this something that we should accept as God’s plan for our children’s lives or is it something that we should view as an enemy attack (the day of evil) and respond as we are taught in Ephesians?

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.  Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.  Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when (the day of evil) comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.  Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.  In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.  Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. (Ephesians 6:10-20)

This was the question that I was faced with more than 13 years ago when my daughter was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease at age 8.  There were many Christians who were telling me that God could use this disease in her life and that we could bring great glory to Him by being joyful in the midst of it.   As a mother, however, I never found peace in my heart with this explanation.  After all, it is a mother’s instinct to always strive for the best health and overall well-being of her children.  While suffering in this life may be inevitable, it should only be for a season, not for a lifetime! (I Peter 5:10) Furthermore, what if this was a tactic of the enemy to try and stop the greater plan that God had for her life?  I was not ready to give up the hope of her living a healthy, pain-free life.

Today, I have a wonderful testimony to share about my daughter because God led me to make the right decision at that time.  I made the decision to ask God to heal her, and I asked over and over again....night after night.  It was not always easy! It required me putting on the full “armor of God,” trusting God when things looked bad, persevering through many trials, and listening closely for the leading of the Holy Spirit. Remember, when you choose to “battle” the enemy, you will encounter resistance and “back-fire”!   Don’t get me wrong, I was far from perfect in this “battle” and many times struggled with doubt, fear and unbelief.  Praise God that even in those moments that we are faithless, when our faith fails, His faithfulness endures! (II Timothy 2:13)

I have decided to start a blog and to share our story of Kaylee’s healing for a couple of reasons.  First of all, I want to encourage any mothers who are out there to never accept disease or to believe that it is God’s ultimate plan for your child’s life!  We know that our children are “fearfully and wonderfully made” and that their immune systems were not created to target and attack their own bodies!  Clearly something has gone terribly wrong in this scenario! Secondly, I am doing this as a reminder for myself.  For you see, this past summer my son was diagnosed with type 1 Diabetes.  With this most recent diagnosis, I have found myself thrown back into all of the same emotions and fears that I faced with my daughter. 

Had I started this blog a year ago, I would have offered the same message of hope when sharing our story.  I was full of confidence, just coming off the victory we had over my daughter’s life.  I wanted to share our story with everyone I came in contact with!  Now that I find myself on both ends of the spectrum, it puts quite an interesting twist on it all.  It is amazing the way that God chooses to work things, and it is rarely the way that we visualize it.  I am now being put to the real test to see if I believe my own message of hope.  Admittedly, it is a harder than I thought it would be.

The best way I know to begin this journey is at the beginning…. A little over 13 years ago, I had to make a very important decision.  Was I going to accept an “incurable” disease as God’s plan for my daughter’s life or was I going to fight it the way we are taught to fight in Ephesians?  Was I going to believe that “All things are possible to him who believes” (Mark 9:23) or was I going to limit God to the perimeters of my own understanding?   I chose to believe, and today my daughter has been delivered from disease.  I do not know for certain what the future holds for my son’s life or how long this battle will last. Today, the only thing I know for certain is this:  I choose to believe,again!