Fear of the Food Allergy

Hey Y'all,

Today I'm going to go off the writing course for a bit and talk about allergies.

I was watching a documentary on food allergies a few days ago and a realization hit me with the force of a brick. Food allergies are scary. 

Like I guess I always knew they were something to have a healthy awareness of, but listening to stories about how little kids almost died from the same condition as me was almost surreal, as if I'd just gotten to the point to where I wasn't afraid, but listening to those stories caused the fear to rise again.

So now we have two red flags. Being terrified and not being afraid at all. Both of these are trouble, for completely different reasons.

First off,
Being Terrified: 

It's kind of obvious why this is a problem, while there needs to be an awareness of 'yes if I eat almonds I can die' but it can't get to the point of 'you ate an almond three weeks ago? Get away from me! Are you trying to murder me?'

That could pose as a problem for making friends. ;p

Psalms 23:4 says "Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil for you are with me"

God knows everything that has happened and everything that will happen in the whole realm of the universe. Who am I to be afraid of a peanut when God's planned out my footsteps and is going to take me home right at the very moment I need to be?

Being scared of a food allergy lets it run your life, lets the what if's run your life, and if something else is running your life (other than God) is that really living?

That being said this can lead to another big problem:
Being Fearless

Yeah, sure, being fearless can be a good thing to a degree, but not when it comes to food allergies. I have read so many anaphylaxis death stories that have the words 'did not have epi-pen' in it. To which I respond "why in the world did someone not have their epi on them???"

You see guys, it's all well and good to not let the fear of the allergy run your life, but that is NO excuse to not use common sense. If you have an epi PLEASE carry it around with you, just because something has never happened before doesn't mean something never will.

You still have to be diligent in keeping yourself safe, even if that means sacrificing the invitation to Texas Roadhouse. It's better to be a social outcast then dead right?

So where do we find the happy medium guys? Where is the I have a healthy respect for my allergy?

To be honest... I don't know.

I lean more on the 'being terrified' scale when it comes to my food allergies, but I have recently taken to not letting it run my life.

A few weeks ago I was at a large function, that was supposed to be nut free with LOTS of food, with some friends of mine. While there a group of boys I knew, but wasn't great friends with came sprinting up to me telling me someone was eating peanut butter. I thanked them for telling me and was about to turn around to go the other way when one of the boys stopped me and said "how do you do it? How do you go to things like this"

I'd never been asked that before, but I knew the answer. I looked him dead in the eye and uttered one word: "Faith."

God gave me these food allergies for a reason, and I'm not going to be afraid of something God ordained.

What about you? Are you more terrified or fearless? I'd love to hear what you have to say on the subject.

-Libby

"Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you" Matthew 17:20