A question to ponder..........

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Permalink Reply by Christina on July 5, 2009 at 6:27pm

I don't think that God is punishing me for anything. We all have obstacles constantly in our lives, whether it be diabetes or something else. Life is not easy. There are times when you are going to fall. You just have to suck it up, get back up, and live life the best that you can. God didn't make perfect people. If people were perfect, what would our purpose be here on earth? If this world and the people in it were perfect, we wouldn't have anything to work towards. There would be no room for improvement because we are already perfect. There wouldnt be any lessons to learn. Diabetes is just another thing we have to work through.

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Permalink Reply by Christina on July 5, 2009 at 6:27pm

Hope I made since, I felt like I was just rambling lol

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Permalink Reply by Arielle on July 5, 2009 at 6:28pm

I don't believe God, if there is one, would punish anyone with a disease. How would that explain all the innocent little kids who are diagnosed with horrible diseases every day, while awful criminals walk around in perfect health?

I was raised to believe that God is omniscient but not omnipotent. We were taught that God set the world in motion and then stepped back, relinquishing the power to interfere in day to day life. That's the only model that works for me; a God who has the ability to intervene and does not cannot be a loving God.

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Permalink Reply by Ahmad ( Al ) on July 5, 2009 at 6:41pm

I don't believe diabetes is a punishment. But you can look at it like this, it is our destiny and god gave it to us to test our patience and the welling to live our life fighting it while praying for him. Also to test the people who loved and suffered for us. And I believe that who among us believe in god and pray for him, he or she will have a higher rank in the judgment day. Since I also believe, that people who suffer and thanks god for everything will be rewarded at the end or in the second life!

Hope this helps you in clearing your mind!

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Permalink Reply by Christina on July 5, 2009 at 6:46pm

i liked your thoughts ahmad

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Permalink Reply by Ahmad ( Al ) on July 6, 2009 at 5:24am

Thank you my lady :o)

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Permalink Reply by nel peach on July 5, 2009 at 6:53pm

My mind is a simple mind and maybe not as religious as some ...I don't blame/punishment any one , including Higher Powers and ME for having diabetes, for having had to go through breast cancer, for having to deal with osteoporosis , for marrying my support system Gordon , for having diabetes taking up a lot of time, etc. etc. ..because I choose this to be my mission in life , during work time and after retirement ...I just pray I put this in the correct prospective.

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Permalink Reply by Mommy and the monkeys on July 5, 2009 at 7:15pm

Here are my thoughts:

I don't find it as a punishment. I have diabetes, it's not the end of the world. I have to deal with it and keep on going. If diabetes or any disease was a punishment, what did a small child do? There is absolutely no way it could be a punishment, the only punishment is to be pessimistic and not make the best out of life. The grass looks greener on the other side. Once you get there, it isn't as green as you may have perceived it. I was placed here by a higher power to educate and make a difference, if I find this as a punishment then I'm not accomplishing what I was put here for.

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Permalink Reply by Rick Phillips on July 5, 2009 at 7:21pm

No I do not think God is punishing folks with diabetes. I do not see God as one who punishes. i do not like my disease, but as a person who has two chronic autoimmune diseases, i feel that Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) would be the punishment if God were punishing me. i know that sounds foreign to people who do not have RA, but the RA is far worse.

Now on to the real question is a chronic illness a punishment? As I said above I do not feel that God punishes. I find that as many opportunities have come because of diabetes as those I have lost. This damn disease shaped my life form the time i was a little kid. My mom was at deaths door for 18 years, I got it when I was 17, in short it is who I am. One can say oh it has been cruel. And it has. But lets also understand I have no idea what the alternative would have been.

Oh I dream of what might have been. I could have lived in Washington DC, I could have been an attorney, i might have traveled the world, if only I did not have diabetes. Then of course there is the other way to look at it. I might have gone to Washington DC and fallen on face, I may have chased the big idea and been awful at it, I might have crashed in an airplane, or worse yet never gotten on one.

Instead, I lived a pretty normal life, I worked, had pretty good health for a few years and now I cannot work at all. I have two wonderful sons, a beautiful wife and a nice dog. Yes that is awfully normal, and i did not want to be normal. Normal isn't to bad considering the alternative.

So no I do not feel punished and maybe I even feel saved. But here is the main question. If I did not have diabetes what would have happened? I cannot feel punished for what I hoped might happen. i know these days that hopes are so easy to have and so hard to cash in. i also know that cashing in a hope also means that you can lose everything. So, am i being punished? Or am I being saved. Only God knows.

rick phillips

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Permalink Reply by tmana on July 5, 2009 at 7:23pm

My personal experiences in life lead me to believe that our hardships teach us that we are all dependent on others, and train us to serve others. We lose the hubris of believing we are completely independent, and in learning to overcome our obstacles, we learn how to help others overcome similar obstacles.

Think of it less as a punishment and more as a way of G-d training you to be His Steward.

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Permalink Reply by Dave   _ on July 5, 2009 at 7:37pm

I was going to respond in more detail, but saw that others, far more eloquent than myself, gave excellent opinions on this subject.

In case you are still wondering about MY thoughts--NO, T1 isn't a "punishment". The world, our bodies, the cosmos, are all imperfect things.

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Permalink Reply by Katherine on July 5, 2009 at 7:41pm

No. I don't think it's a punishment. ESPECIALLY when one is diagnosed at such a young age: ie - 6 years old. That doesn't make sense to me. Diabetes is all apart of His plan. It is most challenging, yes, but who would I be today if I wasn't diagnosed? Yes - God know how much of a hardship it is to have diabetes, but he also knows how hard it is to live this LIFE, in general. What about Cancer? an abusive spouse? You could think of a million things that God would "punish" you with, but it won't change the fact that He loves us and has given us this disease for a reason, whether you believe it or not.


=)

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