Hope Big – Love More

On November 27, 2016 I was asked by the minister of the congregation Sheryl and I attend if I would like to give the message.  I readily agreed.  Right after I said I would do it, I found out it was the first Sunday of Advent so it was a little bigger deal than I originally bargained for.  Certain times of the year the message has to be tailored to the season and the day.  On Easter, the person giving the message is expected to talk about Easter (makes sense) and during advent the message should be about Advent.  Since Hope is the first Sunday of Advent I titled my “Hope Big – Love More”.

Carmel Christian Church

A bit about our congregation.  We are Carmel Christian Church in Carmel, Indiana.  This is a Disciples of Christ Congregation.  We are not a large or tiny church.  It is not uncommon to have 80 to 100 people attend.  The Disciples of Christ are usually thought of as being the liberal Christians.  We were one of the first dominations to accept female ministers and elders.  We believe that same sex marriage is appropriate, people who are LGTB are completely welcome in our services and we endorse the concept that all people regardless of race, or beliefs are welcome in our church.  We accept that your understanding of God is as valid as mine and that together we enhance each other.

Hope

With that background, I decided to honor Advent and focus primarily on big hope.  But I did not get to express all my hopes.  I have a few I did not talk about.  Here is my list of big hopes:

1. I hope for an end to death because of misdiagnosis of people with Type 1 diabetes. Tom Karlya who writes a blog titled “Diabetes Dad”, does an outstanding job of reminding us that Type 1 onset is often mistaken for flu or an upper respiratory infection and when that happens death can happen as a result of Diabetic Ketoacidosis (DKA).    A simple test costing about $2.00 and that can be completed by a CNA in a Doctor’s office or ER, can often be predictive of a DKA condition.  I hope someday that this test will be performed as a matter of routine when a person presents with flu like conditions.  This includes the youngest children who lack voice to tell doctors just how ill they feel.  DKA is described in most literature as a terrible death.  We need not let this happen simply because the onset of type 1 diabetes is not recognized due to a lack of family history.

2. I hope we have the will to insist that scientists pursue better and less expensive treatments for Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA). At $1,500 or more per month, the cost of providing biologic treatments for people with RA is unaffordable for many.  Surely with the advent of life saving medications we can find better methods to either more affordably price the medication or assist patients in obtaining these medications.

3. I hope someday we find better ways to deal with the physical and emotional aspects of chronic pain. Our current methods are inadequate.  While opioids do work, there has to be a better solution.

4. I hope we find better methods to educate and help people with diabetes and Rheumatoid Arthritis to sustain their emotional health while dealing with the long term problem of being responsible for chronic conditions. RA and diabetes are not our fault.  Surely there must be a better way to deal with the emotional impact of these conditions.

5. I hope my grandchildren and their children will live in a world where they never have to worry about RA or Type 1 diabetes.

Like most of us I have more than 5 hopes, but if we get these under control it will be easier to ask for other more routine things, like a new laptop and in a year or so a new desktop computer.

Love

The second part of the message is a challenge to love more.  Hope is the gateway to love.  In my opinion, we would have difficulty hoping big things for others unless we love them.  We are called on to love our enemy, our neighbor and those who do not wish us well.  I love those I do not know and hope they feel better soon.  I love the children with Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA) and diabetes and hope they will be able to give us their full potential in life and I even love those who set prices for our treatments.  I hope they will have the ability to see that patients need these medications and that the companies they work for need to make a profit, so they can expand research.  I pray those who set prices never see the patients as people they can squeeze simply because they can.

If you are interested I have included two videos.  The first is the video of my message to Carmel Christian Church.  I did not speak of chronic conditions, so it may not be your cup of tea.  But if it is I hope you enjoy it.  Second, the video called the man who planted trees.  I reference it in the message.  It is about 30 minutes long, but worth every minute of watching.  If you have any comments positive or negative let me know.  Your comments will help me prepare a future message at some point.

 

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Take away for Thursday December 9, 2016

• I enjoy delivering the message for church
• I have other hopes I did not express
• We all have the right to enjoy life. So let’s have a party!!!