Today's post may seem a bit strange. Humor me and see if my ramblings make any sense. I need to backtrack to yesterday's post ("Stay the Course") in order to set the stage for something really special that followed. I penned the blog message just before rushing out the door to my House of Worship and arrived just as the opening song was ending. Our pastor talked about what it means to put Jesus first. I managed to pay attention during his talk even though I was somewhat distracted about my own direction in life. It's those pauses that get me every time – those times when your mind drifts. During a silent moment, I was questioning myself about the story I had just written and the self doubts were creeping in big time. I thought, how many baby steps is it going to take to get this next book done? Maybe I'm veering off course and I'm lost? Before I knew it, the service was over and I was on my way to my day job. That's when it happened. It wasn't a baby step in the right direction. It was a Holy Spirit leap frog that electrified every cell in my body.
I have to keep the names and places anonymous here for privacy reasons but what happened next made my day and cleared up any doubts I had about my direction in life. I met a family from a small town outside my state. Most people don't drive that far to shop at my day job and they were curious if we could meet their needs. They hesitated when I asked what they were interested in. The wife whispered, "do you have any gluten-free products here?" I wanted to hold hands and sing Kumbaya with them. The husband shared how he's had stomach issues almost his whole life. The doctors never could find anything wrong so he just lived with his health issues. He noticed a change when he switched brands of beers. The stomach issues subsided. They returned when he switched back. He studied the ingredients to see what was up. He decided to quit beer for a while to see what would happen. He started feeling better. He dug deeper, dropping wheat from his diet. His stomach problems got better. He lost 30 pounds. He asked his friend to join him. This man is a farmer. He told me he would be the last person to try something so strange as a wheat free diet. The man's daughter also visited the doctor for stomach problems. The parents thought her issues were maybe emotional since the doctors couldn't find anything specifically wrong. They decided to cut out wheat and dairy from their daughter's diet. She got better. The whole family discovered they felt better when they eliminated gluten. No one told them to do this. This was something the husband did because he thought the gluten in his beer was making him sick.
Once the family committed to the food changes, they shared their story with their local grocery store. The owner offered to bring in some gluten-free foods but the choices were limited to one shelf and the family needed more. They drove over two hours seeking a solution. They found what they were looking for. They shared how challenging it is when everyone looks at you thinking you are weird because you don't eat what they eat. I know the feeling well. That's okay. I'm no longer lost. Neither is the family I met yesterday. The meeting was a leapfrog moment. This is my calling – sharing my story with others who are suffering from food related health issues. Thanks for allowing me the opportunity to ramble today. Have a great day.
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