God is Always Good.

One year ago our daughter was dying. We didn't know it. For weeks she grew more and more lethargic, while other symptoms which we recognize only in hindsight began to present themselves. We took her to the doctor for testing, and he called us a few hours later: her blood sugar was well over 600 (normal is around 100). We needed to get her to the emergency room at Children's Medical in Salt Lake City immediately.

Twenty-four hours later she had been hooked up to IVs, pumped full of medications, and finally she was stabilized and on the road to recovery. And she was a Type I diabetic. Our little 2-year-old would be getting 5-6 injections of insulin, or more, every day for the rest of her life.

And here is where theology kicks in. As I reflect on that time, I recognize that God was not standing by, helplessly wringing His hands as He watched her pancreas shut down. God's Providence was clear through the entire process. God's Providence was clear in the way my wife's heart was unsettled, and perceived danger in ambiguous symptoms. It was clear in the speedy, decisive test results and diagnosis. His watch-care was glorious, dazzling, in the way our daughter's body responded to treatment. His grace has been so clear in watching our 2 (now 3)-year-old enduring the constant needles.

AND . . . this is so very important . . . His Providence, His glorious will, was active and real and decisive when that little malfunction in Alison's body triggered the reaction that put her in the hospital. God gave her a perceptive mother. God gave her a caring, experienced doctor. AND God gave her diabetes (Isaiah 46:9-10, Psalm 33:8-11). That is not an accusation. It is worship.

God is sovereign. Period. Whether Alison's medical condition stems from God's permission or His intervention, this is part of the Potter's grand design for her life and ours. And He is no less loving, no less merciful, and no less good, after the diagnosis than He was before. He is God. He is glorious. And the difficult and distressing times are no less His tools because we finite human beings struggle to understand them.

"But now, O Lord, You are our Father.

We are the clay, and you our Potter;

And all of us are the work of your hand."

Isaiah 64:8

Thank you, Lord, for Alison. And thank you, Lord, for Alison's diabetes.