A LETTER FROM DIABETES

Recently my best friend sent me messages from Nigeria complaining that her mum was almost going blind in one eye and had been diagnosed with diabetes. I was so worried and this led me to start a research on different ways of preventing/controlling diabetes, especially with regards to diet in a developing country like Nigeria.  Well I found a few preventive measures that could work well in the country but today, I will like to share with you an interesting piece I read online… A LETTER FROM DIABETES.

If you have no clue about diabetes, this letter will give you an idea about the disease including the risk factors and ways of preventing it.  Remember, prevention is better than cure! Take time out to read this insightful piece and I’m sure you’ll learn one or two new things.

 A LETTER FROM DIABETES

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN

Hello, it is with utmost pleasure that I write to tell you of my journey so far towards being the number one killer disease on the planet and the good news is that I’m close to achieving this dream of mine. I run in families and can be transferred through genes so you can be sure that when your dad or mum has a piece of me, you are at high risk of having me as well. I become readily available when your body does not produce enough insulin or your body cells are not responding to insulin. And even if I’m not present in your family already, you can be the first in the family to invite me.

Photo credit: http://diabetesassistant.org

All you simply have to do is stick to an only-carbohydrate diet with sugary soft drinks and I’ll be right there smiling and waiting for the right time to strike. For those of you who are obese and do not exercise, we are definitely allies already as you simply make my job easier.

You might make the mistake of underestimating my abilities and take me for granted but be sure that when I strike, you’ll urinate more often, get thirsty, lose weight and the slightest injury to you have will refuse to heal and worsen to the extent  that you might get an amputation.

I attack people all over the world but my favourite domain is in Nigeria because when I strike in some places here, they attribute it to witches in their villages giving me the impetus to spread my wings further.

Well, at this point I know what you are thinking. That I’m unfair right? But please don’t be quick to condemn because I’m not as unfair as those of you who know all about me and haven’t warned your friends and neighbours. This is because the truth is that I’m not as powerful as I sound.  I am almost powerless if you discover me on time by running a test on your blood or urine and then starting treatment with drugs and exercise depending on the type of me you are affected by.

With all these mentioned you can render me totally powerless and lead your normal life. On the contrary, if I’m not discovered early, I can go ahead to affect your eyes, heart, kidney, ears and give you all sorts of ailments that you will find difficult to cope with.

So the next time you act like I do not exist and do not take the necessary precautions, remember that I have a dream of being the number one killer disease and you are simply the next available target!.

Yours indeed,

DIABETES

Source: The Nigeria Diabetes Online Community Blog.This letter was originally written by Theresa Odoh, who was the first runner up for the 2013 World Diabetes Day Essay Competition titled “DIABETES IN NIGERIA: Protecting the future”.  

Hope you enjoyed reading that as much as I did? If you found the information useful please kindly share with others. Also if you have the symptoms highlighted in the picture above, please visit the doctor/GP as soon as possible.

Have a blessed week and remember to stay healthy :)

LadyMay

"Passion Should Lead To Marriage Not To Sin" by Octavia Vance

I recently bumped into Pastor Antonio Vance and his wife, Octavia E Vance on facebook and oh my daysssss...I love them to bits already. This amazing couple are the founders of Truly Faithful, a ministry dedicated to helping singles prepare for godly marriages as well as encouraging married couples stay strong in hard times.  What I love most about them is that they are so real, unlike some Christian couples who pretend all is well and make it seem like their marriage is a bed of roses. Anyway, that's gist for another day *winks*  Today, I will like to share something I read on their page so sit down, relax and GRAB A NOTEPAD because you might need one.

"Passion Should Lead To Marriage Not To Sin!" by Octavia Vance

    Singles, one way to know if someone really loves you is their ability to court you without "pressuring" you to sin with them. Remember sex is for marriage only so anything done sexually outside of marriage is either fornication or adultery. So you're not having "premarital sex" before marriage you are having fornication. If they really love you enough, they will not "pressure" you to indulge into sin with them and vice versa. And if you both have already fallen into sin with each other, then if Christ is really in both of you, you will repent and court the right way.

We know this all too well as when we first met, we started off on the right track but after letting our passion for one another get the best of us, we fell into fornication. And as I've said before though it wasn't many times, each time we did, I felt like a whore afterwards. The guilt that comes with fornication is one that a true believer can't easily get over because you feel you've let your Savior down. That's how I felt each time and I would cry and hate myself. My husband would feel guilty because he felt he should had been the stronger one since he was a believer longer than I was. But see, we didn't have to fall had we done either one or two things since we knew we were the right one for each other. And that was either marry or separate. So eventually since we felt we weren't quite ready to marry, we separated.

But when we separated, it was not to date others just to fill the void of each other nor was it to find someone else but it was to draw near to God, to repent for our sins and to make sure marriage was what we needed to do. We knew we were burning for one another and the scripture even said that it's better to marry than to burn but we wanted to be totally free from sexual sin FIRST before entering into something so honorable. So what's the point?

Passion between a man and a woman is actually a normal and natural feeling. If it wasn't, it would not have been mentioned in scripture. Attraction between a man and a woman is also natural as God made man to be attracted to woman and woman to be attracted to man but if passion and attraction leads a man and a woman to sin then that's not of God. But if passion and attraction leads a man and a woman to marriage, then that is of God. Let me explain.

1 Cor 7:9 (NIV) says, "But if they cannot control themselves, they should marry, for it is better to marry than to burn with passion".

Ok in its proper context, this scripture is referring to a single believing man and a single believing woman who have much love, attraction and passion for each other. So God is saying to them, yes you can have self control but with these kinds of passionate feelings for one another, instead of trying to continue in restraint, it is better to marry once and for all and to live in holy married union than to burn and be on fire with sexual desire for one another. In those times, some were forbidding singles to marry so they could stay single and serve the Lord wholeheartedly but Paul by the Holy Spirit told singles it is not a sin to feel passion for one another but they needed to honor the Lord and marry instead of constantly trying to practice restraint and risk falling into sexual sin. In other words, since there was no law against marrying, it was better for them to marry and share those mutual feelings of passion toward one another FOR LIFE!

This rules out any single trying to use this scripture just to have "legal sex" in the confinements of marriage because in its proper context, this scripture is for mature believers who love the Lord and love each other but may be struggling to restrain sexually. So God is saying instead of burning in passion which will eventually lead to sin, marry each other for life. In today's time, two mature believers already know they love God and each other, they are simply trying to wait until what they feel is the right time to marry but in those days, many were forbidden to marry whereas today that is not the case.

So I say all of that to say while passion may not be sin, it can lead to sin (just like so many other things can lead to sin) but that was NEVER the purpose of passion. Passion between a single man and a single woman is to lead to marriage. If you ever look up the word passion, some of the definitions are, 'strong and barely controllable emotion', 'a powerful emotion such as love' and 'strong sexual desire'. So God knows that with passion comes the desire to be sexual with someone of the opposite sex, remember it was God who created sex for marriage. God is simply saying it is better to marry because passion can turn into sin.

Be Wise Singles and don't test the Lord by trying to continue to resist each other knowing how in love you both are and knowing how passionate you both are toward one another. Don't allow something that's pure in the eyes of God (mutual love, attraction, passion) to turn into something He frowns upon (heavy petty, sexual sin, fornication). Because if it's really God then the passion you have for each other will lead to marriage not to sin. And for those who have already fallen into sin, if it's really God, the passion you have for one another will lead you to repent and then marry or repent and then separate. Either way in the end, God's kind of love for each other won’t let you to continue in sin! No matter if you decide to marry or separate, don't let any ungodliness surround or saturate Godly love! ~Take Heed~

1 Cor 7:9 (GWT), "However, if you cannot control your desires, you should get married. It is better for you to marry than to burn [with sexual desire]".

KEEP CALM & GIVE THANKS

Yesterday was Thanksgiving Sunday in my church and even though there were so many things bugging me at the time, I had and still have more than enough reasons to say THANK YOU JESUS!

Did you know that "Thank you Jesus" is the simplest effective weapon you have against the enemy as a believer? There is so much power in your praise/prayer of thanksgiving! Praising God in difficult times sends confusion into the camp of the enemies because when they expect you to be downcast and sorrowful, you are happy and busy giving God praise.

No matter how bad or terrible you think your situation may be, when you take time out to reflect on what the Lord has done for you, you'll have more than enough reasons to give thanks.

The bible says in Philippians 4:6 "Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.". Don't wait till your trial is over before giving God praise! Make it a habit to always praise God for what He has done for you in the past, for what He's doing in the present and finally, praise Him in advance for what He'll do in the future!

For now, my testimony is all wrapped up in Psalm 34:1-10 which says "I will praise the LORD at all times. I will constantly speak his praises. I will boast only in the LORD;let all who are helpless take heart. Come, let us tell of the LORD’s greatness;let us exalt his name together. I prayed to the LORD, and he answered me.He freed me from all my fears. Those who look to him for help will be radiant with joy; no shadow of shame will darken their faces. In my desperation I prayed, and the LORD listened;he saved me from all my troubles. For the angel of the LORD is a guard; he surrounds and defends all who fear him. Taste and see that the LORD is good. Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him! Fear the LORD, you his godly people, for those who fear him will have all they need. Even strong young lions sometimes go hungry,but those who trust in the LORD will lack no good thing."

 

Don't let your present situation stress you out, keep calm and praise God! After these tests comes your testimonies! I look forward to hearing your testimonies. Take care and have a blessed week.

With love,

LadyMay.