Beyond Blessed

I am so blessed. I have a wonderful husband. I have two of the sweetest, cutest, happiest children. We are all healthy. My family is amazing. My friends are the best a girl could ask for. We have a nice home and plenty of food. We have reliable vehicles and enough money to pay our bills. We take family vacations. I am really, very blessed.


Friday when I took my kids to my sister's church to do an activity with the children's ministry I met a little boy. I don't even know his name. I don't know if he is mean as a snake or sweet as an angel. I don't know his family, if they go to the church or are just a part of the community. What I do know is that in the five minutes I spent with this little boy I learned that he is brave and strong and smart. I know that I tried not to cry while he talked. I know that he is why I write this about my numerous blessings.

He sat down across the table from me and my daughter. He pulled out a little black bag and put it on the table in front of him. He looked at me and smiled. I smiled back. He unzipped it and pulled out a little oval plastic container and was almost talking to himself. He kept saying 1,2,3. 1,2,3. Then the end of his finger was bleeding very lightly and he took the end of his finger and placed it on a test strip that was placed in this mechanical tester. Then he looked at me and said "It's going to be an error. Yep, there it is...error." Sure enough the screen on the tester said error. I asked how he knew it would be an error before he saw it. He explained that the test strip has a yellow stripe on it and if you can still see yellow then there was not enough blood and it will be an error. He pulled out another test strip and told me "I have diabetes. I have to test my blood sugar and I have to have insulin shots. I have 5 shots a day." He showed me that the plastic oval container was the needle and he just puts it on the end of his finger and pushes a button. "I always say 1,2,3 poke before I do it. 1,2,3 poke." He looks around and watches the kids for a minute oblivious that I am watching him with tears in my eyes.. "1,2,3 poke. Ooooh, that's a good one." I ask if he always uses the same finger. "No, I can use any finger. I can't use my toes though." He then puts his feet up on the table and he clearly has not been wearing shoes all morning as his feet are brown with dirt. So I comment on the dirty feet and how that probably wouldn't be good and he tells me he could wash them in the sink. I agree and tell him that then they would be clean. "Yeah, but I still couldn't use my toes...I just use different fingers." Somehow I think he just wanted to put his feet on the table. Boys will be boys. So then the number is registered at 73. "Oh, yeah it's low. I need a snack. But not a big snack, just a little snack." He holds up his hands to show me what a little snack is. When asked what a good number is he tells me 80-100 is good and anything lower he needs to eat some carbs, four carbs. I ask him how old he is, thinking of my own six year old son and how he HATES needles. He tells me he is five. I listen and fight back my tears. I ask him how he knew his blood sugar was low, did he get dizzy, did his head hurt. "My legs get weak. Then I know I have to test it to see how big of a snack I need." This is what got me. His legs get weak? Weak legs on a five year old. Wow. Look away, no tears. He then showed me how there are different numbers on the needle. "0 won't do anything, 1 won't do anything either, 2 just pokes, 3 might poke, but 4, 4 is a good one. I leave it on 4." This was entirely too much for a child. Why was he left to know and remember all of this and take care of it all by himself. How long had this been going on. It was awful and I was saddened by all of it. He was gone before I could ask him his name or even thank him for teaching me all that he did.

So that day I got a crash course in diabetes and I thanked God for giving me healthy children. I thanked God that so far we have had no broken bones or hospital stays. I thanked God that the only way I can tell my son needs a snack is that he gets grouchy and thanked Him that there are no needles involved in our daily life. I prayed for that little boy and thanked God for sending me a reminder in such a friendly and adorable little face.


I think sometimes we forget. I think sometimes it is so much easier to complain about what we don't have or fuss about things and people than to really just be happy for what we have. What He has blessed us with. All good things come from God. Without Him we would have nothing. We would be nothing. He is our blessing. The home and vacations are all just extras.

Count your blessings, one by one, see what God has done.