Being on the road all the time and out of the comforts of home many things are hard. Being away from family, not having your own space, not having a schedule are all hard. But one of the hardest things for me involves eating. Four years ago I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease. Celiac Disease is a digestive disease that damages the small intestine and interferes with absorption of nutrients from food. People who have celiac disease cannot tolerate gluten, a protein in wheat, rye, barley, and oats. Gluten is found mainly in foods but may also be found in everyday products such as medicines, vitamins, and lip balms. So since gluten is found in wheat, rye, barley, and oats, I cannot eat the regular breads, cakes, cookies, pasta, and processed foods that most people eat. If I do eat it, I get very sick, like food poisoning. Eating gluten with Celiac can cause many problems of the digestive system, including cancer. It can also cause malnutrition, anemia, osteoporosis, miscarriage, liver diseases, and more. So obviously I have to stay away from gluten. I have no choice.
When I first found out I had to go on this diet it was very depressing. Being the only person to not eat cake at a party, or have a piece of pizza was very hard. I felt alone, like I was weird, almost like the leper- an outcast. Many people did not know what gluten was and did not understand why I could not just have "one piece". My mom was so great at experimenting with new flours, trying to recreate something so I could eat it. And sometimes I forgot I was eating something 'different', but it was still hard. Now, Celiac Disease is becoming more easily diagnosed and even some athletes are choosing to go on the diet for the health benefits. Therefore there are more products out there that I can eat. We were even able to have a gluten free wedding cake! (The topper we ate a year later was not so good though, :) guess the wheat really helps it preserve.) Restaurants are now coming out with gluten free menus! Sometimes that only means 2 or 3 choices to eat, but at least I know it's safe!
So this brings me to our current situation. We are traveling all the time and visiting churches all day on Sundays and on most Wednesdays, and a majority of churches provide some type of meal for the visiting missionaries. This is such a kind thing to do for us, don't get me wrong, but it can pose a problem for me. A lot of preachers will take us out to eat. This is usually a good scenario, since I can decide what I order. But sometimes they want to go to places that are hard for me, a pizza place or Italian place, and I have to nicely explain that I can't eat there. That is what makes this so difficult. Most people have no idea what having a food allergy is like! Usually they are understanding when I ask them to change plans, but I'm always put in an awkward situation where I have to explain the problem, explain why I can't have it, explain what is safe to eat, and apologize over and over for any inconvenience. The worst case scenario is when we're invited to someones house who's already prepared a meal. I walk in, smell what's cooking, and am left guessing if I can eat it. Then we sit at the table and I have to ask questions about how it was prepared and what ingredients were used. There have been a few times I've had to refuse a meal, and eat some of my snacks I leave stashed at all times in my purse. I was told once by another missionary that we should call each pastor and explain my situation before we go to each church. However, I guess my southern upbringing makes me too scared to do this. I feel I should not assume someone is going to provide us a meal and feel it too forward to call and ask them to make plans for us. But then I'm stuck in situations like what I've been describing.
The whole point of this story is not to make people feel sorry for me, or call out a preacher for the meal they provided us, but it is to hopefully make people aware of the situations of others. Three times on our deputation travels we have actually been asked by the preacher himself if there was any special situations they needed to be aware of. What a blessing to know someone cares enough to ask even before meeting us!! I know there are many more people out there that do care, but forget to ask or don't think to ask. So I'd like to encourage all of us to think about how we can be servants to someone. Perhaps you could show a visitor where the restroom or nursery is when they visit your church. Or maybe tell someone new to the neighborhood where the best places to shop are. Let God's light shine through the way you are accommodating to others!
More about Celiac Disease- http://www.celiac.org/
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