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Previous Challenge Entry
Topic: Power (05/10/04)
TITLE: The POWER of Prayer
By Amanda Nagy
05/10/04
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I received some bad news medically about 3 years ago. It isn’t urgent or currently life threatening but still shook me to my core. I had some routine blood work done to check my chronically low blood count and an incidental finding was made of a high glucose. I went back in to my doctor's office for a fasting test and was diagnosed as a diabetic. I cried, ranted, railed, was extremely angry and depressed to the point of barely being able to function for a couple of weeks. I was so scared! I have a horrendous family history of diabetes. My dad (oldest of 7, 5 of whom have/had diabetes) has had 2 heart attacks, heart by-pass surgery, his heart has stopped beating once and he now has a pacemaker and very recently had a foot amputated, all due to diabetes. A brother, next oldest, dropped dead when his heart stopped mid-stride, again due to diabetes. His youngest sister who was also my favorite Aunt dropped dead at her kitchen sink three months before my own diagnosis due to congestive heart failure, brought on by diabetes. His other sister had both legs amputated before she died, ditto diabetes. ALL thank God are Christians and ALL fight very hard to maintain their glucose levels and all have/had a horrible time with it. My doctor agreed this is a scary history, but assured me this disease does not necessarily doom me if I can get serious about taking care of myself. I'm very lucky since it was caught early. I could have gone on like this for years before it was found.

I knew the risks, yet continued to play Russian Roulette with my weight. In the back of my mind I was afraid, but didn’t really think it would ever happen to me. Sometimes I wonder how I can be so dumb.

All in all I spent a lot of time pretty much holding a pity party for myself. Then one day, thanks to the power of prayer the pity party was over and I started praising the Lord.

I have come to terms with the diabetes and I'm now a woman on a mission. I am determined to educate my family and friends on the hazards of waiting and playing games with their weight, of ignoring the real facts of how they look and how unhealthy they really are. Diabetes is epidemic in this country and when there is a family history it's just plain foolishness to play games of chance. Anyone is at risk though, family history or not if they are overweight.

How did this change come about?
I was talking on the phone with a wonderful Christian neighbor about two weeks after being diagnosed and just before we were ready to hang up she spoke a prayer for me. While she prayed two things were revealed to me. First that my joy in the Lord had returned. Praise the Lord!! It felt GOOD to feel good again! Secondly, since I was being uncharacteristically quiet God revealed to me that He had used this as an answer to a long sought prayer. I had prayed for many years that God would "help" me lose weight. He answered this prayer several years ago when I woke up one morning and said, "Let's go!" and I lost 28 pounds in a few months. Unfortunately the holidays arrived and I never got that momentum back. In a moment of total self-honesty I realized that I have been waiting for God to wave a majestic hand and take away all of my desires to overeat. Silly huh? I had messed around for years and not only gained the 28 pounds back but gained many more until I was at an all time high weight and very unhealthy. How many times have we all heard "Be careful what you ask for, you may get it."? How many times have we prayed for something and God answered, but in HIS way not ours? I have actually been guilty of wishing I could 'get a little sick' so I could lose some weight. I have prayed fervently for an answer to this eating issue. I am now diabetic (a little bit sick!) and I now have a way to control the eating issue. I'm not saying God did this to me. I did this to myself and I know that. I also know that He is there for me, always has been and would so much more have preferred that I do this the easier way. I may be slow but I am learning: There is POWER in prayer!

I spent some time on a site that offers Christian weight loss support and through them I learned "No food will satisfy my heart nor fill the emptiness in my soul. That is what Jesus Christ is for. He's the 'real meat' and the 'bread of life' and I am to feed on Him".
Now THAT is power!

PRAISE THE LORD!! Thank you Jesus!