Yesterday, forty-two people from our Hispanic community were screened for Diabetes. They had previously taken a risk assessment at a Faith Fighting Diabetes event, and the results showed that they were at high risk for either having the disease or were pre-diabetic.
It was very humbling for me to walk into the crowded waiting room and see all the people there. This was the first screening we had set up. Knowing that these people were there because of something that happened to me is what humbled me.
It all started off so randomly. This past summer, I was on the last day of my annual retreat, and I was ready to get home. I stopped by the retreat center library, and I picked up a Catholic newspaper.
On the last page, an advertisement caught my eye. Faith Fights Diabetes. The ad said that people are more likely to listen to their faith leader than their doctor when it comes to health issues. Go figure. Anyway, I was intrigued, so (please don’t turn me in) I ripped the ad out of the paper and tucked it in my pocket.
When I got home, I went to the Faith Fights Diabetes website and learned that the program was an outreach of the New York Health Department. I was hoping it was bigger than that, and that maybe it was something I could tap into here in Maryland, but it didn’t look like that was possible. I was wrong.
I sent an email out to a couple of people I know at my local hospital and health department. What did they think about the concept? Within a day, they asked to meet. They loved the idea and felt that it would work in our community, which has many active faith communities. Faith Fight(ing) Diabetes was born. I’ve been blogging about our various meetings since we began having them and I’ve been really pleased.
Yesterday’s screening of those forty-two people will bear much fruit. Those that have diabetes will be diagnosed and they will begin getting the treatment they need. The results will be a wake-up call for those that turn out to be pre-diabetic.
Everyone’s awareness has been heightened. Maybe it was the staggering statistic that fifty percent of their children will be diabetic if they don’t make some pretty major lifestyle changes now.
The moral of all this is that there are no random events. God had a plan that day when I stopped by the retreat center library. What seemed like such an insignificant event last summer may have saved some lives yesterday.
Be open to God working in your life. So often we look for Him in the big things, in majestic places, in lofty people. Yes, He’s there. But more often than not, we find Him in the random events, the seemingly insignificant things, the lowly people.
St. Ignatius reminds us that we should find God in all things. If you haven’t looked for Him lately, or maybe you’ve given up trying, I hope you’ll use this little story of Faith Fighting Diabetes as an encouragement to try again. Trust me, it will be worth it, and you’ll be humbled by the results.
