Love in Action

Can you believe it? Another Christmas come and (very nearly) gone! Ours ended up being white this year — a surprising and delightful rarity here in Texas.

When you take down your tree and lights and stockings over the next few days, I hope you’ll be mindful not to pack away your Christmas spirit along with the decorations. As noted in the poem “Let Every Day Be Christmas,” that peace-on-earth-good-will-toward-men attitude is something we should carry in our hearts all year through:

Christmas is forever,
not for just one day,
for loving, sharing, giving,
are not to put away
like bells and lights and tinsel,
in some box upon a shelf.
The good you do for others
is good you do yourself.

So I pray that the remainder of your Christmas, plus all the days that follow, will be characterized by love and joy and giving. And may “God bless us, every one!”

Our Family’s Newest Christmas Tradition

After our six-year-old was diagnosed with diabetes just before Thanksgiving, our family was invited to take part in a study aimed at discovering the cause of Type 1 diabetes and finding ways to prevent it. We were great candidates — twelve biologically-related children in a single family, three of whom have Type 1.

When we first agreed to be screened, we assumed we were signing up for a one-time finger prick, but it was actually more involved than that. A full vial of blood was required from each child, as well as from their father and our grandsons. (Luckily Unfortunately, I missed the age cut-off by a few months myself and was therefore ineligible to participate).

The staff who were taking the samples were very kind and extremely good at what they do. They made it easy for our children to bravely submit to the blood draws, although we’re all grateful we don’t have to endure four blood tests and four shots a day like their brothers. If any of the screens come back positive, we’ll get to do this all over again. If they are negative, guess what? The kids can still come back every year for another blood draw until they turn eighteen.

So we’re adding this event to our “Christmas Countdown Calendar.” It’s our newest Christmas tradition, and one we’d highly recommend to any other family affected by Type 1 diabetes.