The older I get the more I revert to my childhood. As I age, I want to follow in my Dad's footsteps more than ever. I get my kids out in the garden and teach them how to do some of it. I coach my son's baseball team. I'm not great at it but I feel like we need more men out there that care about their sons and the folks he is around. Who knows.... we might even make a difference in somebody's life.
Today, we had an event with Trail Life at the Mecklenburg Wildlife Club. I was extremely excited to go because I spent numerous weekend nights down there in the clubhouse when my dad was calling Square Dances for the club. To be a member of the Square Dance club, you also had to be a member of the Wildlife Club. I got there with my son today for his archery event, and there were so many times I wanted to call my dad and ask him something as I was trying to make connections with some of the members.
After the archery event we went for a hike at Crowder's Mountain State Park. As my son and I walked, I just kept thinking about how Blessed we are. Yes we have struggles and we are going through some right now with our youngest and something between the State of NC and her Nursing Care, but we are so Blessed. I kept thinking about how I have 3 terrific children and a wife that is phenomenal. I enjoyed every step. Even the ones that were tough and made me slow down and pull back on the reigns to slow my son. I wished that my girls could be with us, but I enjoyed EVERY SINGLE STEP! God has Blessed me. He has given me a hard head and a mind to think "He's not done with me yet". I've told this story several times to several different people. Back in September I went to the doctor because I knew I needed a change and I just couldn't get a handle on it. I had lost some weight over the period of a year but not nearly the amount that I needed to feel better. I had been praying about my situation for a while, and God acted. First my wife made me an appointment. I even told her to cancel it and she politely said okay. She never did. I ended up with a sinus sore throat just a day or so before the appointment, so I asked her if she had cancelled the appointment and she said no. The day of the appointment the sore throat was pretty much gone. I met a wonderful nurse and doctor that were different. The doctor actually listened to me, and they both had this "spirit" about them. Well, my physical results came back not so good. A1C was 10.2, BP was high, and Cholesterol was through the roof. We talked plans of action, and the doctor prescribed me Diabetic meds, BP meds, and Cholesterol meds. I started reading about these different numbers and quickly knew I was on a very bad path. My doctor did me a solid. Because she had listened to me, she knew I didn't want to be on prescription meds and she gave me the best option she could. I almost walked out with a prescription for Insulin that day. Instead she prescribed metformin. Insulin, although you can come off of it, it's not as easy. After breaking the news to me that I was now on 3 meds when I had previously been on 0, I asked what are my chances of getting rid of these meds? My chances weren't good. She told me that out of all of her patients that had similar conditions, she could think of 2 that had come off the meds or drastically reduced them. That's when God's Blessing of me being a little bit hard headed kicked in. God then instilled in me a desire. I'm not concerned about where I'm going or Who I'm going to be with when I die. I just wasn't ready to be released from the responsibility of raising the children that He blessed me with. I have this prayer that I will live longer than my youngest child, because I simply don't want her thinking I deserted her. She is a special little girl and just wouldn't understand where daddy is and why he left her. I have to do everything I can in my power and the time God has allowed me, to take advantage of every second, minute, day or year that He has granted..... and be grateful. Today as we ate supper, I just watched my son. I thought what a fine young man he is growing into. Yes he is a 9 year old boy, but you can see him taking shape. I so wished that my dad could see him. And not just him, but his other grandchildren as well. How I wish my parents could sing happy birthday to my kids again. How I wish they could love on my youngest and see the love she has in her heart. As I thought about all of that I heard a man talking behind me about changing his eating habits. He was talking about doing KETO. I had to turn around and engage. He had been doing a KETO type eating plan for about a month now and was having some moments because he had a hard time keeping on it at work. That's when I told him where I'd been. That since September of 2018, I've lost from 275 to 240 pounds. That my A1C was 10.2 and I had brought it down to 5.1. I told him I try to keep my total carbs under 50-60 grams per day, but most days I really try to keep it under 20. We had a good conversation that I believe was God ordained. Hopefully something I may have said, stuck with him. Hopefully he found some encouragement. I've just kept thinking, "I am Blessed" today. As I continue this journey and try to use my love of Hiking and Backpacking to raise money for Cancer Research (Catawba Tribe of the Rhododendron), and continue to adapt to healthy eating choices, I know I'm blessed and want to make everyday count. If anyone has any questions about what I'm doing or shows an interest in the Hike, or wants to talk about building a personal relationship with Jesus..... PLEASE ask me.
God has been very good to me. Even though we are facing a giant right now, I know he has me and will get us through this. I know He loves me and has instilled this fight in me. To God be the Glory!!!
~Lee~
