Diabetes and God's Unending Grace

By Pamela Diane (Vance) Worley

Diabetes and God's Unending Grace is the story of my fifty-four-year journey as an insulin-dependent, type-1 diabetic. I believe that God has directly led me to write this book as a source of encouragement and inspiration for other people afflicted with this incurable disease. My journey as a type-1 diabetic began on December 4, 1965. I was almost sixteen years old. Diabetes was much more difficult to manage at this time, and I described this in the early chapters of my book. My parents were informed by the doctor to tell me to never get pregnant and that I might live twenty-five more years. At age sixty-nine, I have survived type-1 diabetes for over half a century. Through divine interventions and answered prayers, I have cheated death many times over. Through God's wisdom and guidance, I have probably accomplished more in my life than an average person. I give my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, all the glory and praise. Deep down inside, I know God allowed this disease into my life because he had a special plan for me. Throughout life, God's strength and grace have met my every need. If you are a diabetic, either a type 1 or type 2, I believe that God has you on a special assignment. I believe he wants to manifest his grace and strength through you. I believe that God also desires to help you discover the special blessings you could not have had otherwise without your diabetes. I trust that my personal story in Diabetes and God's Unending Grace will deepen your faith and trust in the divine sovereignty of Almighty God. He is a wonderful heavenly Father, and you will read about his awesome and unending grace!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Jun 10, 2020
• ISBN: 9781098026516

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Diabetes and God's Unending Grace

Pamela Diane (Vance) Worley

Copyright © 2020 by Pamela Diane (Vance) Worley

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.

—2 Corinthians 12:8–9A (KJV)

Idedicate this book to Dr. Jacqueline Cohn, endocrinologist. Dr. Cohn’s dedication to her patients for over forty years in Corpus Christi, Texas, have proven her excellence in the global medical community. At present, Dr. Cohn serves over four thousand patients. Because of her high-quality medical care of me, I count it an honor and a privilege to have had her as my endocrinologist for over the last twenty years.

Prologue

Hello, my name is Pamela Diane (Vance) Worley. I am sixty-nine years old, and I have had type-1 diabetes since diagnosed on December 4, 1965. Having begun my life journey as a diabetic at age fifteen, I hope this testimony will inspire you to obtain the most out of your insulin-dependent life that you possibly can. Like the Apostle Paul in the New Testament of the Holy Bible, you also have a medical condition which you cannot eliminate. Theological discussion about Paul’s incurable condition varies from a physical weakness to an incurable medical condition, disease, or whatever. But one thing is for sure as we read about Paul’s petition to God for healing in 2 Corinthians 12:9–10. Paul was not healed because God had a higher purpose for him. Paul was to soon learn that God’s grace was sufficient, and that God’s strength would manifest itself through his infirmity or thorn in the flesh . Furthermore, Paul would glory in his infirmity because of the manifestation of Gods’ power and strength through his weakness.

Never fear. I have no intention of either preaching to or discrediting you. But I will be sharing what my Lord Jesus Christ has done in my heart and life. Deep down inside, I know God allowed me to become a type-1 diabetic because he had a special plan for me. Through my diabetes, God has manifested his strength many times. His marvelous grace has met my every need. I give him all the glory and praise. I hope that my personal story will not only inspire you, but also deepen your faith and trust in God. Perhaps you also will come to know Jesus Christ personally as your Lord and Savior. If you are a diabetic, God has you on a special assignment. He wants to manifest his strength and glory in you. I want you to discover blessings you could not have had otherwise without diabetes.

Chapter 1

A Rough Onset (December 1965)

Igrew up in Iaeger, a small coal-mining town located in southern West Virginia. In December of 1965, I was fifteen years old and in the eleventh grade at the town’s only high school. I was a normal teenage girl and enjoyed playing trumpet in the high school band. I was also a local, district, and state leader in a girls’ leadership society. I had a passion for music and had years of training on the piano. I made plans to pursue music as a career.

As early as the summer of 1965, while in summer band camp, I had brief moments of just not feeling well. I was thirsty all the time and drank lots of water and sodas. Itching blisters had developed on both ankles. I attributed this to poison ivy. Thinking nothing was seriously wrong, I told no one. Fatigue began to bother me, and I felt tired all the time. My weight of approximately 138 pounds had begun to decrease slowly. Little did I realize, I had some classic signs of diabetes mellitus. I rejected the notion to tell anyone or to see a doctor. Meantime, after school started in September, my usual lunch at school consisted of one bag of potato chips, one candy bar, and one soda drink.

By Thanksgiving of that year, I was feeling poorly most of the time. I had lost twenty-five pounds and continually drank sodas and water. On the evening of December