Remember: Impossible is just a word that people use to justify giving up.

I seriously feel like climbing a mountain right now…

Thumbs up, everybody! Rock and roll!

“…For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move…”

I’ve struggled because I’ve stood in the shadow of mountains – the mountain that is a cancer diagnosis; the mountain that is a loved one’s struggle with depression.

I’ve stood and looked up at a seemingly insurmountable mass towering over me. I have been overcome with an acute awareness of my own smallness, frozen in the face of what lies in front of me.

In these moments these are the words that come into mind: “You will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there.’”

So I’ve stood, facing the giant, concentrating my every effort, closing my eyes, focusing every thought…
every breath…

every…

single…

heartbeat…

doing all that I could to harness all of my faith in the hopes that I could muster but one single mustard seed’s worth…

And nothing.

When I open my eyes, the mountain is still there.

…

I don’t know about your experience, but for me, those moments were crushing.

I did not even have faith like a mustard seed.

My struggle with that verse is that it sends me into this destructive cycle where I venture to pray for something miraculous but secretly I doubt that it will happen. And when miracles don’t happen it is because I do not have enough faith.

I long for the validation of the miraculous while never believing, not once, not really, that the miraculous could really happen.

“O you of little faith,” the enemy whispers gently into my ear.

…

But the thing I’ve come to learn about mountains is that they can be moved.

But it is not from the strength of our voices that we can command the earth and the winds and the seas. Mountains do no jump when I give the word.

Not like they will when they hear His voice…

But mountains can be moved gradually, slowly. Stone by stone. Spoonful by spoonful if necessary.

Patiently and persistently, carrying little pieces of earth from here to there until the very last rock has been moved.

That is how you move mountains.

And all it takes is a little bit of faith, no more than a mustard seed’s worth. If that faith is planted in your heart, you will have the strength and the perseverance to move mountains.

“…For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.“

So until the day when the measure of our faith is made complete, when the earth jumps at our very command…

Until that day, I will move mountains with what little bit of faith that I have.

To which William Carey replied, “I will go down, but you must hold the rope.”

I love that.

I love the idea of standing up and volunteering to go bring the Gospel to people who are suffering. The imagery of Isaiah 6, where Isaiah steps forth and courageously responds to to God’s call, “Here I am! Send me!” sets my heart on fire every time I read it. Oh that I were that brave, that I would willingly go forth to endure certain hardship and suffering all for the sake of the Gospel.

Because the truth is that Christianity is hard.

Faith in Christ means submitting to a sanctification process through which the Holy Spirit undoes all of the damage that our sinful nature has caused in us. In order to receive life in Christ, we must die to ourselves… and it is not an easy process. This is not something we can do ourselves, it is Christ’s work through us.

I think C.S. Lewis nails it when he describes Aslan “undressing” Eustace to turn him back into a boy (Eustace had been turned into a dragon in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader [affiliate link]). As Eustace describes it:

The very first tear he made was so deep that I thought it had gone right into my heart. And when he began pulling the skin off, it hurt worse than anything I’ve ever felt. The only thing that made me able to bear it was just the pleasure of feeling the stuff peel off…

Not only that but we are commanded to go out and bring Christ’s love into the world. And we are told that we will meet with great resistance. That we will be persecuted and suffer greatly all for the sake of Jesus Christ.

Christianity is hard. Anyone who tells you differently is a liar.

But know this: Christ is the only worthwhile thing in this world. Suffering with Christ is a great gift.

It has also taken me a long time to understand that. It’s been easy for me to look at the suffering I’ve experienced in my life: the death of my mother from cancer, my own experience with cancer, developing diabetes, being there on September 11th, my dad’s current battle with cancer, my sister’s struggle with depression, my brother’s struggles with addiction, living through major car and motorcycle wrecks, losing my job multiple times, betrayal by people I love… and think “Why me? Why do all of these things happen to me?”

Well, I know two things. These aren’t answers to the question because only God knows why he has done these things in my life, and I trust that His plan is perfect. But these are two truths I have learned through my suffering:

God has brought me back to him through suffering.

First, when facing suffering I have no choice but to acknowledge my own weakness and inability to overcome hardship on my own. From this humbled position I am able to see how great God is and how much I need him.

Second, my suffering has given me a slight taste of Jesus willingly endured for my sake. I have suffered a mere fraction of what Christ suffered, and I hated it. But through my suffering I am able to better understand the reality of what the cross means. For these reasons I am grateful for my suffering.

My experiences enable me to come along side others in their time of suffering.

I am not a compassionate person.

It’s something that I’ve struggled with for a long time because I feel like I used to be. Over the years, as I experienced different hardships, I slowly put up walls that protected me from being hurt. They also have kept my feelings in. As a result I don’t empathize well. I’m not happy about it. I don’t want to be this way. But I am.

For a long time I thought to myself, “I’ve been through a loved one dying…” or “I’ve lost my job…“, “I should know what to say to someone else in this situation.”

But I never do.

Honestly, I don’t remember what I felt like when I was in those situations. I don’t remember what, if anything, helped me to heal. So I don’t know what to say to people when they’re suffering. I’m actually quite awkward about it (which would be funny if the other person wasn’t going through a hard time).

But I have come to realize that I am extremely blessed to have suffered through so much. Because there are only few situations, a few types of suffering that someone might be going through, where I can’t go up to them and say, “Are you going through hell? I’ve been there too.“

Because I have.

And through those experiences God has revealed to me his plan for my redemption through Christ. God has given me the only source of true hope; hope that not only makes suffering make sense but makes it worthwhile.

I know that suffering exists, that it is inevitable. And if I am willing to accept that and willingly endure suffering, I know that Christ can be found within suffering. Is it not, then, my responsibility to tie the rope around my waist and dive into the depths of hell in order to bring that same hope to whoever is down there?

I still suck at compassion, I’m a clumsy brute attempting to bring mercy. But I now love to say:

“Are you going through hell? I’ve been there too. I don’t know what your hell is like and I don’t have any advice for how to get through it.

But know this, there is something wonderful on the other side. And if you want, I’m willing to go down and be with you for as long as it takes to get through it.“

What a great way to start this day…

*Well, it’s not really the “start” of my day. The start of my day was (per usual) wrangling two small children, bundling them in layers and layers of winter clothes, and driving them up to daycare (while singing our ABC’s at the top of our voices).

But once that was all sorted, I settled in in front of my laptop, opened my web stats site (I use GetClicky.com because it shows real time stats) and saw that I someone found Kingdom Strategist by searching Google for:

“ministry opportunities for 59 year olds”

Let it sink in for a minute… ministry opportunities for 59 year olds, how awesome is that?

I’m not talking about the fact that my blog is some what relevant to that search (but I’m glad that it is).

I’m talking about the fact that someone, somewhere is searching for that in the first place! It means that there is a (presumed) 59 year old somewhere who is feeling God’s call to ministry and they are actively looking for opportunities. That makes me smile.

It also brings a few things to mind.

First, why did they find my web site?

If you search for “ministry opportunities for 59 year olds” on Google, you’ll see that most the results are career-related, seeking to help people in this age demographic in their job search. Kingdom Strategist shows up because of one of my posts sharing my Business as Mission research. The specific article looks at the demographic make up of the Business as Mission movement and actually includes the specific phrases “59 year old“, “ministry” and “opportunity” (though not in sequence).

So, it was accidental yet not entirely erroneous that Kingdom Strategist would show up. Business as Mission is a ministry opportunity for 59 year olds. It’s also a ministry opportunity for 63 year olds, 41 year olds, 33 year olds, and 25 year olds. But of all the ministry opportunities out there, Business as Mission is better suited for people in their 50′s and 60′s because Business as Mission leverages an individual’s knowledge, experience, professional network, and net worth… so generally, the older you are, the more of these you have to draw from.

What are the ministry opportunities in Business as Mission?

This particular visitor did spend a good bit of time looking through my site, I hope I inspired some ideas for ministry opportunities. But I want to make sure that I help people to get started in Business as Mission (if that’s where God is calling them).

If you have a business background and are looking to become more involved in advancing God’s kingdom, Business as Mission might be a good fit. Here are some great resources for you to learn more about Business as Mission:

Websites:

• Business as Mission Network
• Business as Mission LinkedIn group
• YWAM Business as Mission resources
• Faith Venture Forum

Books: (affiliate links)

• “God Is at Work: Transforming People and Nations Through Business” by Ken Eldred
• “Business As Mission: A Comprehensive Guide to Theory and Practice” by Neal Johnson
• “Great Commission Companies: The Emerging Role of Business in Missions” by Steve Rundle and Tom Steffen

And of course, I recommend Kingdom Strategist for strategic and practical Business as Mission resources. I also provide Business as Mission consulting services and would be happy to work with you as you get started in Business as Mission. I specialize in market and opportunity assessment, business planning and strategy development, and Business as Mission strategic advisory.

Second, churches, ministries, and missions organizations are missing a HUGE opportunity to connect, care for, and mobilize inspired Christians.

Like it or not (pastors), studies show that search engines are the first place people turn when they need answers or advice (link opens PDF report). The Church needs to recognize this and make sure that they are represented (through search engine optimization) in the search results.

Now I know that churches, ministries, and missions organizations have a hard enough time accomplishing their core objectives, especially given the hardship that the current economic climate creates. Who has the time or the budget to learn about, set up and manage a comprehensive web effort?

That is why I am working with Monk Development to develop strategic web solutions specifically for churches and ministries that:

• are built upon years of experience, thought leadership, and proprietary research;
• that support and strengthen kingdom advancement (while discouraging the negative influence of Internet usage to spiritual growth);
• and that fit constrained budgets.

Sounds like a tall order, right? Let’s just say it hasn’t been easy… but worthwhile ventures seldom are.

If you are a part of church, ministry, or mission organization, I encourage you to check out the following resources:

Solutions:

• Monk Development (www.monkdevelopment.com)
• Ekklesia 360 (www.ekklesia360.com) – Complete web solution for churches.
• Cause 360 (www.cause360.com) – Complete web solution for non-profit organizations.
• Church Web Optimizer (www.churchweboptimizer.com) – Church Web Optimizer is a powerful combination of core services such as: Search Engine Optimization, website content strategies, local search listings, audience research, website analytics and online strategy consultation; designed specifically to help churches in advancing the Gospel.

Resources:

• Church Website Guide (www.churchwebsiteguide.com) – Church Website Guide is an initiative created by Monk Development to evaluate, study and educate churches on how best to use the Internet to further the gospel. We see it as proper stewardship as thousands of churches use our church website content management system.
• Church Tech Review (www.churchtechreview.com) – Church Technology Review is a website for churches and technology enthusiasts to find the latest technology solutions for Christians. Find out the newest Church Web 2.0 companies or read reviews of church-focused technology prior to selection.
• The State of Ministry Online (www.stateofministryonline.org) – State of Ministry Online is a collection of studies, surveys and research to benefit how ministries do ministry online.
• The State of the Church Online – (in development) – State of the Church Online is a collection of studies, surveys and research to benefit how churches can be the church online.
• Goodmanson.com (www.goodmanson.com) – Church and church technology thought leadership from Drew Goodmanson.

And, of course, if you would like to discuss any of the things I’ve talked about here, I’d love to connect with you. Feel free to leave me a comment below, letting me know a little bit about yourself and your interest and indicating the best way to get in touch with you. (This offer is open to people of all ages… not just 59 year olds.)

I believe that  kingdom excellence is not contingent on achieving perfection; however, perfection does play a significant role in excellence. You can be excellence without being perfect.

What I’ve come to realize is that the kingdom perspective of perfection is that although perfection can never be attained by our human effort, it must be our goal nonetheless.

By striving for a God’s standard of perfection that is never within our reach we must acknowledge our utter reliance on God. Furthermore, we are able to see the expanse that separates our best effort from God’s perfection and it is then that we begin to recognize the enormity of what Jesus Christ has done for us by achieving perfection in our place. We see that God is both just and merciful. We are set free from ourselves because we do not hold on as tightly to our own success or failure.

It is only when we are freed from the illusion that we can achieve perfection we receive the power to try.

Kingdom excellence means hungering for perfection. Kingdom excellence means constantly striving for perfection in a way that reflects the truth that it is Jesus, not me, who has attained it. Kingdom excellence is trying my best and when I get knocked down, kingdom excellence is the power to get up and try again.

I am grateful for C.S. Lewis for his understanding of this and his unique ability to explain it to me:

We may, indeed, be sure that perfect chastity — like perfect charity — will not be attained by any merely human efforts. You must ask for God’s help. Even when you have done so, it may seem to you for a long time that no help, or less help than you need, is being given. Never mind. After each failure, ask forgiveness, pick yourself up, and try again. Very often What God first helps us towards is not the virtue itself but just this power of always trying again. For however important chastity (or courage, or truthfulness, or any other virtue) may be, this process trains us in habits of the soul which are more important still. It cures our illusions about ourselves and teaches us to depend on God. We learn, on the one hand, that we cannot trust ourselves even in our best moments, and on the other, that we need not despair even in our worst, for our failures are forgiven. The only fatal thing is to sit down content with anything less than perfection.

– C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

{I have the vague feeling that I’m reiterating something someone else said recently so I don’t claim this as an original thought…}

I was reminded just now by an email I received that spammers prey on people’s vanities, fears, and insecurities. I peruse my spam filter from time to time to be reminded that I am not man enough, rich enough, or successful enough; because I then get to tell myself that there is someone else who is. Someone who loves me just the way He made me. And for that I am grateful.

Turns out I’m not employed enough either… it’s heart-breaking that there are men and women around the world who are so desperate to find work that this type of scam could work.

Image: http://open-eye-photography.blogspot.com/2009/02/sam-bassett-photography.html

But my favorite — FAVORITE – speech by Dr. King is from a sermon he gave on November 5, 1967 at Ebenezer Baptist Church called “But, If Not” (download MP3 of the sermon).

I say to you, this morning, that if you have never found something so dear and precious to you that you will die for it, then you aren’t fit to live.

You may be 38 years old, as I happen to be, and one day, some great opportunity stands before you and calls upon you to stand for some great principle, some great issue, some great cause. And you refuse to do it because you are afraid.

You refuse to do it because you want to live longer. You’re afraid that you will lose your job, or you are afraid that you will be criticized or that you will lose your popularity, or you’re afraid that somebody will stab or shoot or bomb your house. So you refuse to take a stand.

Well, you may go on and live until you are ninety, but you are just as dead at 38 as you would be at ninety.

And the cessation of breathing in your life is but the belated announcement of an earlier death of the spirit.

You died when you refused to stand up for right.

You died when you refused to stand up for truth.

You died when you refused to stand up for justice.

– Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

What are you living for?

Full text of the speech after the jump…

I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.

Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.

But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. And so we’ve come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.

In a sense we’ve come to our nation’s capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the “unalienable Rights” of “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note, insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked “insufficient funds.”

But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. And so, we’ve come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice.

We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of Now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God’s children.

It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. This sweltering summer of the Negro’s legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning. And those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. And there will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.

But there is something that I must say to my people, who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice: In the process of gaining our rightful place, we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again, we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force.

The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. And they have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom.

We cannot walk alone.

And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead.

We cannot turn back.

There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, “When will you be satisfied?” We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the negro’s basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their self-hood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating: “For Whites Only.” We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until “justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. And some of you have come from areas where your quest — quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive. Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed.

Let us not wallow in the valley of despair, I say to you today, my friends.

And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.”

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today!

I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of “interposition” and “nullification” — one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.

I have a dream today!

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight; “and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together.”

This is our hope, and this is the faith that I go back to the South with.

With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith, we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith, we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

And this will be the day — this will be the day when all of God’s children will be able to sing with new meaning:

My country ’tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing.
Land where my fathers died, land of the Pilgrim’s pride,
From every mountainside, let freedom ring!

And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true.

And so let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire.

Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York.
Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania.
Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado.
Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California.

But not only that:

Let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia.
Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee.
Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi.
From every mountainside, let freedom ring.

And when this happens, when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual:

Free at last! Free at last!
Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!

For those of you who don’t know, I am a Type 1 Diabetic. Typically, people with Type 1 diabetes develop it while they are children (hence it sometimes being called “Juvenile Diabetes”); however, I developed it in 2004 when I was 26 years old.

Diabetes is a disease where the body either:

• (for Type 1 diabetics) does not produce insulin; or,
• (for Type 2 diabetics) does not respond to insulin.

As a Type 1, I do not produce insulin. Insulin is produced by the pancreas and facilitates the absorption of glucose into the body’s cells. At some point in 2004 my pancreas stopped working, probably because my immune system got confused and sent my white blood cells to attack it. Stupid immune system.

Diabetes is interesting because it’s both a chronic and an acute illness. Poor glucose absorption wreaks havoc on the body causing:

• poor circulation,
• excess retention of fluid,
• cell damage,
• mental and physical fatigue,
• and other complications.

The long term (chronic) dangers are eye damage (caused by pressure from the fluid retention), heart disease (from having to work harder and not having consistent nutrients), kidney damage (from processing all the excess glucose to get it out of your blood), nerve damage (from the excess fluid), and foot disease (from the poor circulation, the feet just aren’t as healthy which ultimately can lead to amputation). The immediate (acute) dangers are diabetic coma which can result from both hyper- and hypo-glycemia (too much or too little glucose in the blood stream).

Type 1 diabetes is treated by injections of synthetic insulin aimed mimicking the body’s natural cycle of insulin production. Due to advances in medicine, synthetic insulin is readily available and convenient, so (so long as you can afford it… I pay on average $100+ a month on insulin and I have health insurance) the main goal is to regulate the body’s blood glucose levels keeping them within the same thresholds that your own endocrine system would. Synthetic insulin is introduced into the bloodstream through shots.

I give myself between six and ten shots a day.

The things that affect the level of glucose in your bloodstream are:

• Food (the amount of carbohydrates, the type of carbohydrates (simple sugars versus complex fibers), the amount of protein and fat (which affect the rate that the food is metabolized), timing of meals)
• Physical activity (increasing your need for glucose to be transferred into your cells)
• Insulin (the amount taken, the timing of taking it (it takes about three hours for insulin to do all its work))
• Physical health (things like sleep, illness, stress all have been shown to affect blood sugar levels)
• Alcohol (increases the processing of metabolizing glucose)

Other than that, you have to maintain a healthy lifestyle so as to not accelerate the heart disease/kidney failure/eye damage/foot damage. I will take cholesterol medication for the rest of my life even though I’m only 31 years old and my cholestorol levels are perfectly healthy on their own (at least for a non-diabetic… we hold ourselves to a higher standard). My diet is pretty healthy which wasn’t that hard to achieve since my wife and I are both foodies and probably would have adopted most the major dietary changes (substituting wheat- for white-breads, substituting leaner meats like ground turkey, steering away from saturated fats, cutting down on sugary foods… though those last two have been more difficult for me since I still crave desserts and the deliciousness of things like fast food and pizza).

To manage these factors, (if you’re fortunate enough to have access to these things because of health insurance if you’re an American) I work with my primary doctor and a nutritionist (and other specialists from time to time) to prescribe and refine an appropriate insulin regimen. I meet with my doctor four times a year to monitor my health, review the effectiveness of our strategy and address any issues.

But the day to day is up to me. That means I have to give myself six to ten shots a day, frequently check my blood glucose level (which involves drawing blood from my fingertip), paying attention to what and when I’m eating, making an effort to stay active and not get sick, pay attention to my mental state in case my blood sugar goes low (or high) so I don’t put myself or others in danger. Pretty easy, right?

On top of that, the fact that the longevity of my life is threatened wears me down. My mother died from breast cancer when I was 19 years old. My biggest fear is making my two children and wife go through losing me. I don’t want to die…

The point of all of this is that diabetes is hard. And it commands my attention all the time. I don’t get a break. It sucks.

So I was encouraged to read about a new organization that is dedicated to studying and addressing the psychological aspects of living with diabetes. According to this article in Medical News Today:

The Behavioral Diabetes Institute (BDI) is the world’s first organization dedicated to tackling the unmet psychological needs of people with diabetes. The BDI offers an array of evidence-based clinical programs, all designed to help people overcome the emotional and behavioral obstacles to living well with diabetes.

Not that this will affect me anytime soon but it’s encourage to see that someone is addressing these very real challenges. It makes me hopeful, and for that I am glad. Thank you Behavioral Diabetes Institute (http://www.behavioraldiabetes.org/)