Five years ago, I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease, a multi-symptom auto-immune disease that can be treated with a gluten-free diet.
I don’t have a serious disease. I have a sickness that has a relatively easy fix. But it has had quite an impact on my life nonetheless. If I eat a little bit of gluten, it is not too much of an issue. I may feel sick for a little while, and then move on. But the long-term effects could be a little more catastrophic, which is why I have to stick to a gluten-free diet for the rest of my life.
Before my diagnosis, I always thought how happy I was that I didn’t have to worry about avoiding allergens in my diet. And then, just a few years later, I found myself in that very place. It seems like a small change, but it made me think about everyday life very differently.
I spent the first year of my gluten-free diet worrying about every meal I had in public. I even started to avoid going out with friends because I simply did not want to deal with the complications I faced.
After that first year, however, I began to figure out what I could eat, and things got easier. I stopped having to think about my diet as much as before, and I got used to it. I realized this was simply something I had to deal with, and that I could.
The kind of worry that I experience before mealtime is nothing compared to the worry that millions feel around the world every day. I worry that I may not find food that I will enjoy, while others worry that they may not find food at all. My worry is insignificant compared to that.
My disease has given me just the smallest glimpse into that kind of worry. Many of us do not worry about our next meal. In fact, we sometimes don’t even have to think about it at all. It is, therefore, something that we often take for granted.
I don’t pretend to know what it is like to go hungry. But a change in my diet made me think about the inequalities our world still holds more than I had before. I encourage you to thank God for the next meal that you eat, and to pray for those who may not have one.
