GOING GLUTEN-FREE WAS EPIC FOR OUR SON

This July marks two years since our son’s diagnosis of Celiac disease at nine years old. It’s hard to believe so much time’s past, but I realize that what seems short to me represents nearly a fifth of his life. “Going gluten-free” was epic for him.

Part of being a parent and loving our kids is recognizing and communicating God’s grace to them, and I want to see and celebrate how God’s helped our son on his journey. This good trooper lives with at least three realities:

1. The Complete Removal of Gluten for His Future

Our son’s clear diagnosis after blood work and an endoscopy meant the complete removal of gluten from his plate. The word “cross-contamination” entered our daily vocabulary as he avoids even trace amounts of gluten. Even though his sister outgrew her dairy and corn allergies, and we’ve been able to add countless foods to her diet, our 11-year-old son knows that foods with gluten will never be safe for him.

2. The Memory of Gluten

Unlike many kids who have food allergies as toddlers and don’t have mental memories of eating the forbidden foods, our son grew up eating cream-filled donuts, unadulterated pizza, and peanut butter sandwiches on glutinous bread. When he eats gluten-free alternatives today, he still compares their taste and texture to beloved foods that are now deemed “unsafe.”

3. Watching Others Enjoy Something He Can’t

As a family, we’ve adjusted some of our eating habits. Most of our main dishes are gluten-free, and there are always gluten-free alternatives for our son. While we support him, though, we still keep gluten in our home since the majority of us can eat it.

Our son makes jokes about what he wishes he could eat. These realities aren’t easy for him. I don’t know what degree of temptation he’ll experience through his life. But there are many reasons to celebrate:

He accepts his diagnosis and understands its implications.

He acknowledges the protective benefits of his diet.

He appreciates his alternative foods and gets genuinely excited about GF treats.

He rarely complains, but he does speak truthfully about how he feels in different eating situations.

It helps tremendously that extended family support him. It’s also much easier to eat gluten-free now than it used to be. Gluten-free foods are available and well-labeled in many grocery stores. For these reasons and many more, we’re thankful on a practical level. But while they provide support and encouragement, these things don’t explain what's happening inside of our son spiritually.

Only God could give our son the intellectual capability to understand his diagnosis and accept its implications at a young age. Only God could work obedience and trust in us, his parents, into his heart as we lead and guide him with food choices. Only God keeps a nine-year-old boy from sneaking food.

Our son’s genuine joy, pleasure, and gratitude when someone goes out of his way to provide a GF treat for him are unmeasured. That’s grace at work.

Even his ability to articulate his thoughts and feelings, and willingness to do so, is proof of God’s grace helping our son to process and walk through his trial openly and humbly.

Because for a boy, saying no to something you love and everyone else around you enjoys is a real battlefield, and who knows what bigger life battles it’s preparing him for. Perhaps this enforced fast, this giving up of “something good but not good for him,” is making him into a man.

Temptation is real. There may be a day when our son does meltdown, sneak food, or struggle in a different way with his diagnosis and its implications. Many people do.

It’s important to acknowledge God’s grace today so we can also recognize it on the days when we struggle. The same God who strengthens us for the battle also offers grace when we fall down.

So we press pause and celebrate. And our son asks me to add, “Does anyone know where to find really good, thick-crusted GF pizza?!”

For more about Katie's book, Loving My Children, click here. 
Email Katie at lovingmychildrenbook@gmail.com.