My Word for 2019 is AWARENESS. God didn’t waste any time giving me an opportunity to apply it.

My daughter, Daisy, has life threatening allergies. Daisy has ALWAYS, and I mean always, been careful about what she eats, even as 3-year-old she would double check with care-takers if she could eat something. Amazing…considering some of those things were candy, any other preschooler would have popped it into their mouth without a second thought.

As Daisy hit the teenage years, she has let her guard down at times…I mean bringing a purse or bag with an Epipen everywhere was just “too” much. Besides, we haven’t needed one in years. That is…until this week.

I was at work when her text came in. She was having an allergic reaction and DIDN’T have her Epipen. I quickly start packing up to leave knowing I have one with me, and that she was at a friends’ house. When I called her and heard the words “pine nuts” I grabbed my bag and sprinted for the door. We’ve had to Epipen Daisy twice for nuts in the past.  Daisy had joined in on the afternoon snack, which was homemade pesto pizza. Pesto has pine nuts in it…and this one also had some cashews thrown in for good measure. Since I don’t make pesto, Daisy had no idea nuts would be in it. She’d only had a couple bites, when she realized her mistake. Her throat started swelling shut. 

This is where my new self-awareness comes in…normally, I take a laisse-fair approach to life. I’m not someone who jumps to the worst-case scenario. I realized with Daisy’s reactions…if I am there when she needs, me I can stay as calm as a cucumber. However, when I am 20 minutes away from her and she is having an emergency…I panic! Like full-blown drive in the commuter lane by myself and run every reddish light kind of panic.

I told her if it gets any worse, call 911, but she knows I am heading her way and would move heaven and earth to get to her.

I realized our Heavenly Father has done the same for us…

He was willing to send His Son from heaven to earth,

He shakes up our circumstances to get our attention, 

He will stop at nothing to move us to a place where we accept his gift and are safe for eternity with Him.

For our story…I was able to get to Daisy and give her an Epipen shot and to an ER before the reaction became too severe. Thank God! Literally!!

For your story… Don’t be caught like Daisy, unprepared when unexpected Death crouches at your door. Let God get to you. Let him rescue you. He wants to.