Back to School with Food Allergies

Sorry for the absence from the blog lately. My girls started school last week and I have been busy getting back into the whole routine of school in general and then adding to that the adventure of introducing my child's food allergies to her new teachers at her new school. My brain was on overload last week, but I'm back and hope to post a few new things this week!

We started the school year off with a student in my daughter's class bringing cupcakes for his birthday. To say I wasn't prepared for that is an understatement. Thankfully, her teacher called me the night before and warned me so that I had time to get her an alternative special treat. I didn't have time to make allergy-free cupcakes, so I checked with my girl and she said Tofutti brand Ice Cream sandwiches would be fine with her. (Thankfully, her class has a full-sized refrigerator and I can store snacks like that there.) It is hard for me to see her have to cope with being so cautious all the time about food, but God has given her an extra measure of grace to handle it. She amazes me. At almost 6 years old, she handles it extremely well and that makes me proud. I know that it is hard for her to always have a different snack than everyone else and she even declined a snack her second day just because she didn't want to be different from everyone else. I had to choke back tears when she told me that, but it gave me the opportunity to explain to her that God made her very special. Psalm 139:14 says, "I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are thy works and that my soul knoweth right well." The fact is God doesn't make mistakes. Every person has something they have to deal with, hers just happens to be food allergies. But everything God allows in our lives is just a learning experience in our path to becoming more like Him. Through food allergies, "C" has experienced God's protection many times and she has experienced God's love and comfort when the day has been emotionally tough. It's hard to be thankful for something that is so dangerous and scary, but the lessons we have learned from living with food allergies have been {and continue to be} good and for that we can be thankful.

We are also very thankful for our girls' teachers this year. I hope all of you have great teachers who are willing to communicate with you and work with your child's food allergies. I pray they will have great compassion for your child, as well. Good luck with a new year!