Freedom in Christ

Have you ever recited back to a pastor or sung a worship song with words like "free indeed" or "free from the chains"? The longer I follow Christ, the more "ah-ha" moments happen when the deeper meaning of a verse comes into clear focus. And in this stage of life, it is usually something about my kids that brings the focus.

For 5 years my youngest has been on a restricted diet. At first the list of foods we had to avoid was long and overwhelming: egg, soy, dairy, kidney beans, blueberries, peanuts and gluten. After reading the list, I sat down and sobbed. I could think of almost nothing on our current menu that met these restrictions.  God slowly provided resources and the diet the became manageable. Three years ago we were able to reintroduce all the food, except gluten.

Above: Kassy's preschool graduation cake that her teacher provided.
She couldn't eat it so the cupcakes in the left are her treat.
I don't have the gift of decorating so my gf treats were never as pretty
as the gluten-filled treats provided at so many events. 

Other moms would praise my dedication to the diet, but I knew they just didn't have the right perspective. What mom wouldn't cook gluten-free if it made her child healthier and happier? Still, both my daughter and I took on on unnecessary burdens.

 I was overwhelmed by the number of places people gave kids food: every play date, twice during all-day kindergarten, every party, every fair, every soccer game, every church activity. And I wanted her food to be similar to the food provided.  If it was a birthday party at Chuck E Cheese, I would bring in pizza and a cupcake. Sometimes though, it would be cupcake day at Sunday school and the snack organizer would forget to tell me and I would have brought crackers because that was the usual snack. I was always more upset by the ostensible injustice than Kassy. Sometimes I would even ask Hadley to eat the gluten-free treats at a party so her sister (and myself) would feel better.

Traveling was burdensome too. Airports and off-the-interstate restaurants rarely had gluten free food. And if they did, Kassy did not want a baked chicken breast when Hadley had mac and cheese. On every trip, including Honduras, I brought bags of gluten-free food.

I wavered between not wanting my daughter to feel left out and knowing that this was her life, she needed to be thankful for all the food she could eat and stop feeling sorry for herself. That worry was the heaviest for me.

This summer I knew Kassy was unhappy with her diet. She wanted to eat gluten. Hoping to avoid a food-sneaking problem, I decided to let her eat gluten. If the experiment failed, hopefully the ill-effects of eating gluten would be extreme enough that she wouldn't want to eat gluten. The experiment did not fail, she's been eating gluten since July. I am trying to sell my stock pile of gluten-free breads and flours and have quit ignoring the hope that this diet has ended.

Once the hope moved in, freedom in Christ took on a  more profound meaning:

• John 8:36, So if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.

A huge burden had been lifted off my shoulders. Daily life, including budgeting, was easier. The number of things to think about before going somewhere decreased. And I realized that when we accept Christ and he forgives our sins, this same lifting of burdens happens.  Problem is, some of accept Christ at a lifestage where we do not even recognize what we have been freed from. I am grateful for the reminder.

I wonder lessons you've learned from the life of your kids lately?