“The Lord is your keeper;

the Lord is your shade on your right hand.”—Psalm 121:5 ESV

Have you ever stopped…

and realized

that you’ve been “kept“?

Guarded

Protected…

“It could be so much worse right now,”

and you really don’t know how it’s not,

…other than God.

That’s how I felt yesterday when I was at my doctor’s appointment…

You see, I was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes when I was 11 years old.

Here I am, going on 36, and somehow I haven’t had to deal with diabetes “complications” in all these years.

25 years…

…many of which, I did not take care of myself,

especially in my teen, and young adult years.

But God helped me to turn all of that around when He started dealing with unforgiveness and self-hatred in me,

and since then

I’ve started looking at my life quite differently. ☀️

For many years I was “walking dead”…

in “deception”

“self-destruction”…

But God saved me from that destructive path, and He started me on the path of learning how to LIVE this life, with an awareness of Him by my side.

He had some plans, you know? 💝

And there was a reason He decided to create me.

Might as well dig in with Him and see what this life is all about, right? 🏃🏻‍♀️💖

Side note: I’ve asked God to heal me, others has asked, and I’ve believed…and I’m still believing… but God has seemed to dig into deeper places, and I suspect He’s wanted to heal me “from the inside out.” And I believe that’s what He’s doing. I trust His way, even when I don’t understand.

So, yesterday at my doctor appointment, they were checking my eyes.

The eyes can give a glimpse into what is going on in the rest of the body.

One of the first places diabetes complications can show up is in the eyes.

Flash back to last year... 2020… eye doctor appointment…

My doctor had just gotten a shiny, brand new tool that would take EXTREMELY in-depth, detailed pictures of the eye. A deeper look into the eye. It really gets in there to be able to see if there are any places in the blood vessels that are starting to swell or leak—and when this is happening, and reaches a certain point, they call this “retinopathy”…

Which can be from a “complication” of diabetes…

Last year, it hit me hard when they found a tiny place or two in my eyes…

Even though it was SO tiny, and SO minor, and the doctor was not concerned at ALL, nothing needs to be done about it other than me continuing to take care of myself, and technically, this was not really even considered “retinopathy” yet…

…but it still hit me last year, that I “could be heading into a part of my life where I’m dealing with complications“— the effects…

…this was a first—honestly, a moment I had been fearing…

and it hit me pretty hard.

But I got over it, because I decided that I would take it to God, ask Him to keep healing me in His way, and I’ll keep on learning how to LIVE this life with Him.

That would continue to be my focus—not on anything that “could be” trying to happen.

Back to my appointment yesterday…

Trying not to be worried about what they could find…

And nothing had progressed, and if there was anything in my right eye the last time (and I thought there was), it’s not there anymore. Only a tiny, tiny place or two in my left eye still, but nothing has progressed or worsened.

And this time, I felt such a peace about it all…. because I know that God is “keeping” me,

and He’s teaching me how to LIVE… no matter what I could face in this life.

I can choose to LIVE in the midst of ANYTHING that could ever come my way!

I don’t have to “live” in fear of the future—that’s not what I was created for!

I don’t have to “live” in worry of what may come… that’s not what He desires for my life.

No matter what “may come”… God has “kept” me and He will continue to “keep” me.

“Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?”—Matthew 6:26-27

And He will continue teaching me how to

LIVE

this

life

…for the rest of my life.

I’m up for that… how about you? ✨

“Yahweh himself will watch over you;
    he’s always at your side to shelter you safely in his presence.“—Psalm 121:5 TPT

“They will not live in fear or dread of what may come,

    for their hearts are firm, ever secure in their faith.

Steady and strong, they will not be afraid,

    but will calmly face their every foe

    until they all go down in defeat.“—Psalm 112:7-9 TPT

“Your future is bright and filled with a living hope that will never fade away.“—Proverbs 23:18

Thank You, Father. 💝 I trust You.

-Heather 🌺