Redeemed

"You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives." Genesis 50:20 (NIV)

Nearly four years ago, Brendan and I walked into a doctor's office and sat for a consultation that would change our lives. That day, as we heard Dr. Silvers offer us more than just an Epipen refill and advice on strict avoidance of our allergens, our family was filled with hope that a treatment called oral immunotherapy (OIT) could help Brendan defeat his food allergies.

Brendan in front of the wall of OIT grads, hopeful to be added one day.

Of course, our food allergy story began about 10 years before our first meeting with Dr. Silvers. Brendan developed hives and vomiting after eating his first piece of pasta. The beginning of Brendan's food allergy journey was fraught with anaphylaxis and fear. Food allergy life sucks, and with a kiddo allergic to wheat, barley, rye, eggs, peanuts, and tree nuts, we were neck-deep in the suck-tastic-ness of it all. "What exactly DO you fed him?" well-meaning friends and acquaintances would ask. It wasn't easy. And it was nearly always stressful. Yet we soldiered on, giving him as much freedom as we could while still trying to keep him safe from foods that surrounded him on a daily basis.

One day when Brendan was a preschooler, I was praying that his food allergies would be taken away, and God placed a picture in my mind. He doesn't do that too often, so when it happens, I pay attention. It was a picture of Brendan shackled in chains. As he grew, Brendan threw off the chains. That picture left me puzzled. If Brendan were to outgrow his allergies, it would be a passive act-- something that would just happen to him. But in this picture, I clearly saw Brendan actively shedding the chains of his food allergies. How could that be?

I'd like to say that picture from God made immediate sense upon meeting Dr. Silvers that day four years ago, but in honesty, I didn't connect the dots until Brendan graduated from OIT. Upon his graduation, I remembered that prayer many years ago, and it was clear. Brendan actively fought his food allergies. And he fought hard. OIT wasn't always smooth for him, but he threw off the chains of his food allergies, and he hasn't looked back since!

Final victory from his food allergies in front of that same wall of grads!

So, when it comes to this God stuff, I'm definitely a little bit slow. It was a few months ago, when a friend from our old church, commenting about Brendan and OIT, mentioned, "Yours is one of my favorite redemption stories." I honestly had never thought of OIT as a story of redemption for us, but the moment she said it, it all clicked together. God is definitely in the redemption business (See: "Jesus saves us all from our sins," as example number one). And that's exactly what He's done here.

Brendan's free from his food allergies now, and that's awesome. But do you want to know what else is awesome? Where the amazing-ness of God's redemption comes into play here?

So many people have seen, heard, or read Brendan's story and gotten treatment for their own kids: REDEEMED.

These two make for some pretty good TV.

Brendan sometimes texts and talks with kiddos who are in treatment with OIT, helping to calm their fears: REDEEMED.

I'm lucky enough to work for Dr. Silvers now, helping food allergy families just like ours through the same treatment that changed our lives: REDEEMED.

Food allergy kiddos are the cutest people on the planet.
I love eating peanuts with these adorable patients!

I've been so changed by this experience that I'll begin PA school this summer, because I want to to be on the front lines, helping change others' lives, too: REDEEMED.

And so, I can't help but think back to that old bible story of Joseph, meeting his starving brothers years after they threw him in a pit and sold him to Egypt as a slave,"You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives."

Our food allergy story started out full of trials and fear, but it certainly didn't end that way. God has used our story to save lives. He's taken something harmful and made it help, not just Brendan, but so many others, as well. We may have begun our story shackled by the chains of food allergy, but we're just getting started on the ending-- an ending that will see countless food allergy families REDEEMED.