I was diagnosed with hypoglycemia before I left for the race. Hypoglycemia is a condition that occurs when the sugar levels in your blood are too low. This means I need to eat often or I will start getting hypoglycemic.
Many of the symptoms include dizziness, a feeling of extreme hunger, a headache, confusion, an inability to concentrate, shaking, blurred vision, personality changes.
My hypoglycemia does not always manifest itself with the same symptoms, but I’ve experienced every symptom on the list above. One of the symptoms that has affected me the longest is personality changes.
On Wednesday, my team did a fast all day for the purpose of using our food from that day to feed the homeless and bless the street vendors by buying their food.
I was fully intending to do the fast even with my hypoglycemia. I knew the Lord could keep my body healthy if he wanted to. (I did have a snack with me in case things went really bad.) But they did not. I experienced some minor symptoms during the day, but every time I did I said a prayer and they went away.
So it was definitely an act of God that I made it through the day with good health. But, towards the end of the day the symptoms of hypoglycemia started kicking in. I had a throbbing headache, I was dizzy, and most of all I was in a really bad mood.
Another one of the teams on our squad joined us in this fast, and we planned to all break the fast together after dark with communion and a meal. When I got back to our house and everyone was there, I immediately went into my room and tried to be alone so I would not inflict my mood on anyone else.
After a little while, I decided to go out and be with people. I kept quiet though because I knew what would come out of my mouth if I started talking, and it would not have been nice or pretty.
After dinner, we played a card game. Without hypoglycemia I am a super competitive person. I don’t like who I become when I get competitive, so I usually try not to be competitive.
But I was in such a bad mood already, I did not hold anything back. I told myself that they were just jokes and it wouldn’t matter. But I was not a nice person.
The next morning we had team time and part of that time was for feedback. I received feedback from multiple people that some things I had said the night before were very hurtful. My heart broke. I knew how I had acted, but I tried to tell myself it didn’t affect anyone.
As we talked about it, my team had such grace for me. I was so sad and ashamed that I had not controlled myself more. I did not ask Jesus for strength and kind words. And I knew it would probably be best for me to be alone because of my mood but I did not do that either.
But because of the grace my team gave me, I was able to apologize and be forgiven on the spot. Along with that, it was evident that my team had not brought this feedback to me because they wanted revenge. They brought it to me because they always want to see me grow in Christ’s likeness and they knew this was not his character.
It was such a true picture of how Christ forgives us and calls us higher. It is not out of shame that he calls out our sin. It is out of a desire to bring us closer to him.
Prayer Requests:
- We head to Lima, Peru tomorrow. Please pray for safe travels, and guidance for the rest of our Ask The Lord time in Peru.
- I got diagnosed with chronic bronchitis last week. I finished the meds they gave me but please pray for continued healing and health.
- My teammate Morgan got her foot cut open this morning and is currently in the hospital. Please pray for wisdom for the doctors, sanitary care, and quick healing.
- We encountered God in some pretty cool ways this week in Cusco. Please pray for seeds to have been planted and for his movement to continue here in Cusco.
Machu Picchu
We had the opportunity to go to Machu Picchu this past weekend. I am still in awe of the majesty of God’s creation. His might and power were so evident in the size of the Andes mountains and his beauty was around every corner.
