* This is NOT What I Signed Up For!

I am NOT complaining.  It is just NOT what I expected to be doing. 

When we got married, we planned on having two kids and maybe adopt two kids, but God changed our hearts and our plans.  He had other ideas.

I thought we might be missionaries in Japan, or somewhere in Asia, with two biological children and two adopted children and that we would be eating whatever was typical for the culture and speaking two or more languages.  We can't even eat the Standard American Diet without getting sick, so just traveling anywhere in the United States is difficult for the time being.

It took me six years to finally figure out what was going on with my oldest child and why he was so sick and unhappy and why everything was so very hard for him.  It has taken me 5 years since to finally get to know this incredible person and accept who he is as he is.  I am still working on it a bit.

I thought that I was learning all kinds of stuff about autism and Asperger's Syndrome to help my oldest child and my friend's with children on the spectrum.  I NEVER expected to see my happy, healthy, easygoing, joyful, rough and tumble little 2 year old suffering with the symptoms of autism.  He only had a few vaccines.  He never ate artificial stuff.  He never drank milk or ate wheat.  He had dairy in the form of cheese and he had Ezekiel Bread, which are healthy choices.  Who could have guessed that this could happen?

I thought we were going to put the older three children and myself on the GAPS diet to heal our food intolerances, and ended up starting the 2 year old two weeks before the planned start date.

I thought I was ready for the GAPS diet, but I have to admit it is a lot of work (at least at first) for a family of seven.  The learning curve is huge.  I know it will get easier, but...Whew!

I am more motivated than ever!  I prayed for healing for my older children and myself.  I prayed for answers.  The GAPS diet is the answer that God gave me.  I have every confidence that we will find healing on this diet.  Our specific prayer was that we would be able to eat and enjoy all of God's food and that it would be nourishing to our bodies and not harmful.  This is what we will receive.  We did not ask to be able to eat junk food, and that is what it is, "junk" food, and I believe the "food" part of that phrase is questionable.  We will be able to eat good food and be nourished by it and will not suffer from all of the physical, mental, and social pains we are suffering from now.

God is good and He is good all the time!  He has prepared us for our current crisis and he is preparing us for whatever may come.  I love to remember the life of Joseph.  Things didn't look so good for him when he was beaten by his brothers and thrown in a pit.  Being sold into slavery and carried off to a foreign land didn't look too promising either.  He had an excellent character and a deep faith in God and he seemed to be making the best of the situation as a master slave in the house of a prominent man named Potiphor, but then he was thrown in prison unjustly.  One might argue that God is not good and that God was not with Joseph, but all of these things prepared him for the time to come and physically placed him in the position where God had told him he would be, ruler over his own father and all of his older brothers.  He was second in command over all of Egypt and God saved the lives of His own people and many others through Joseph.

I don't expect to be used of God in such a profound way as Joseph.  He never gave me dreams that prophesied what my future would be.  I DO expect God to use me for His glory and I will strive to continually improve my character and grow in faith in whatever circumstances I find myself in, like Joseph.  I will trust that God is working ALL things out for my good and for the good of my children and my family.  His plan is so much greater than mine.  His thoughts are NOT my thoughts!  His ways are NOT my ways!  This is NOT what I signed up for, but I am certain it is where I need to be!

Have faith in God and in His goodness and you will find peace and a joy that you never thought was possible!

I want people to know about the GAPS diet because I believe it could be the path to healing for many who are sick from this toxic world we live in, but even more so I want people to know God who made our bodies to work the way they do.  We are fearfully and wonderfully made!  Only God knows how it all works and what makes it or breaks it.  He is the one who heals!  If we find healing through this diet, and I believe we will, then ALL the Glory goes to God because He knows what our bodies need and He showed me where to go.  He gave Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride the knowledge to put the pieces together and figure this out to bring healing to her own son and so many others.  God is the one to be praised!