Saturday, February 23, 2013

Strength through Love: Family.

Today my eldest brother, Ben, left for choir tour. I already miss him.

Sad day...

I find it interesting how I can draw strength differently from each and every family member.

I don't think I will ever be able to erase the feeling of a doctor telling me I have type one.

Dad.

It was just me and my dad at the hospital when I found out. If it had been any other family member, I know I wouldn't had handled the situation as well as I did. 

The room was small, the doctor- unfamiliar. My normal pediatric doctor had left an hour before I found out my blood sugar was 500. 

My dad was positive the blood sugar meter was wrong. 

Technically, it had to be.

We had blood work done to make sure.

While waiting in the doctor office, I was terribly afraid that my diagnosis would tip Mom over the edge of sanity.

 I mean that.

I don't know if it was shock, but my dad and I were telling every doctor and nurse not let my mom know. We were concerned that a doctor would call our home number to inform my mom of the blood work tests. 

Thankfully, that didn't happen. That would have been bad.

(Sorry, that was an important rabbit trail. :) 

So there I sat in the doctor's office . . . 

I started to get choked up with the overwhelming pressure thinking of type one.

That's when I was so thankful Dad was with me. 

Dad was strong. He was the one who upheld the family through the trial. 

If Dad would have cracked - the family would have crumbled.

Mom.

She's the glue that holds all of us together. Without Mom, the whole house would fall apart. Everything would be a wreck and all of us boys.... would have killed each other!

She manages the type ones. She wakes up at two in the morning to check each of our blood sugars. She helps us when were sick, and loves us when we are weak. 

With Dad at work and constantly under pressure, Mom bears the weight and responsibility of the diabetics while he is gone. (That's why I was scared she would tip her over the edge. :)

I know our family couldn't function without her.

Ben.

He's the eldest. 

The leader. The thinker. The peacemaker. 

Ben is the one who I wanted to see when I was first in the hospital. Ben and I are close. 

He helps give me hope when life is overwhelming. Things to look forward to. 

Type one is very overwhelming if you look past today. That is the only amount of time God gives us strength for... today.

I go to college with him every week for trumpet lessons. That's what is nice about lessons, I get lots of time with my older brother. 

Time to talk and solve the world's problems. 

Samuel.

He's the enforcer. The workhorse. The employer. 

I love working with Samuel.

That was one thing I love looking forward to ... work. 

I get lots of time with Samuel during the summer and winter. Working landscaping, mowing accounts, or plowing out customers. 

That is what makes us close. Time to work together, and grow up together. Help each other with our strengths or weaknesses. Competing to push ourselves in order to prove who is the strongest.

Yeah. Thankfully he is older.

Because you can imagine who wins... every time

Being with him is what makes hard work fun.

Daniel and Hannah.

I put these to together because they are the group I have recently joined.

Entertaining. Funny. Resourceful. 

Although I am older than both, when it comes to type one, I'm  the "new kid on the block".

They both make hard things like type one - humorous. 

Since they're younger, they push me to be stronger and braver. 

Sometimes they look up to me, and I get to look up to them. 

They are my examples, even my heroes.

That is what helps me to live with type one. 

An amazing family : strong and loving parents, with amazing brothers and a little sister to top it.

A person couldn't ask for better....

In fact, a person couldn't get better! 

4 comments:

  1. Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Caleb! Praying for you!
    Melissa

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  2. Keep writing Caleb! This is a beautiful entry of the amazing family you have! I hear the special joy that your trial has produced. Though Type 1 takes... in this reflection... in its own strange way it gives too. The Lord can work all things for good!

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  3. I love you Caleb! You are truly gifted in your words and your expression of them. I am amazed every day by each of you. You have become a very wise, courageous, young man! I am blessed to be your "Aunt Jenny"! I love you all dearly! Seriously, has no one shared this with Make a Wish Foundation? =)

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  4. What a beautiful account of your family.

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