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With the 14th of this month being World Diabetes Day (and also my favorite number!), I felt inspired to honor the theme by sharing 14 lessons I’ve learned from living with Type 1 Diabetes for the past 20 years.

I was diagnosed as a ripe young teenager and have experienced many trials and tribulations due to this chronic condition. But over time, something shifted. Instead of viewing my circumstances as cursed limitations, I’ve grown into a healthier, more grounded perspective — that maybe this diagnosis has also been a blessed opportunity to learn, grow, and wake up to deeper truths about myself, others, and ultimately, God.

Diabetes has been one of the loudest invitations of my life — an invitation to surrender fear, to trust God, and to walk in a freedom that no diagnosis can take away.

So, without further ado, here are 14 lessons diabetes has taught me about freedom, faith, and trusting myself.

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THE 14 LESSONS

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1. Your body is always communicating — listen before reacting.

With diabetes, our body basically speaks in all caps. It’s constantly sending signals, nudges, whispers, warnings — and sometimes full-on alarms. Over time I learned that reacting out of fear only makes everything worse. Instead, when I pause, breathe, and actually listen to what my body is saying, I make calmer choices and feel more connected to myself instead of at war with myself.

2. Control is an illusion; trust brings peace.

Pretty sure I am on some type of spectrum for having OCD. So safe to say I’m a certified control freak. Maybe it’s inherited from my mother or maybe T1D creates OCD all on its own — because the constant fear and survival-mode need to “control” our blood sugar is next-level.

But this illusion of control took a real toll on my mental and emotional well-being. I would get stressed to the max when I’d do everything right and the numbers still told me I was “wrong.” When I finally began releasing the death grip on control and instead practiced sitting with what was, I experienced more peace. It still sucks, don’t get me wrong — but trust softens what control intensifies.

3. Numbers do not define you — your heart does.

Just like the number on a scale can create disappointment, the number on a glucose monitor can do the same. But your worth can never be measured in milligrams per deciliter. If I imagined myself without diabetes, how would my heart lead me? What qualities would naturally rise to the surface?

Those qualities — compassion, courage, resilience, empathy, love — that is who you really are. Not a number.

4. Rest is sacred.

Oh boy, is it. I am still learning this one. Rest does NOT come easy for me. I know I have some deep subconscious beliefs around rest that deserve a whole blog post one day.

But here’s what I do know: rest is productive. A stressed, exhausted body is a dysregulated body — and high levels of the stress hormone, cortisol, has a direct impact on blood sugar.

When I’m feeling restless and unable to relax due to a stubborn high that won’t settle, one of the most powerful things I can do is a slow, mindful walk. If you can do it in nature, even better. I swear every time I’ve chosen this during a rough day, it works like magic: my levels drop to steady normal and my entire nervous system calms. Try it and let me know if it works for you, too!

5. Faith fills the gaps science can’t.

There have been countless days where my insulin, my calculations, my corrections, my tech — all of it — just didn’t add up. When nothing made sense, faith stepped in. Faith bridges the unexplainable. Faith holds the moments where we’ve done all we can.

Diabetes is scientific, but the peace to live with it comes from God.

6. You can do hard things — just take it one day at a time.

Living with Type 1 is a full-time job you never applied for, can’t quit, and never get a day off from. But somehow, here we are — still waking up, still showing up, still fighting, still living. Hard things become possible when you take them in daily doses instead of trying to carry the whole future all at once.

7. Food is not the enemy; fear is.

I used to fear food. Fear how it would affect my numbers, fear of messing up, fear of being “bad” at diabetes. But food is nourishment. Energy. Enjoyment. Connection. Culture. Comfort.

When we heal our relationship with fear, our relationship with food becomes kinder, gentler, and more trusting.

8. Healing is not linear — but every low brings a rise.

And what goes up must come down.

There are days when your levels take a toll on your mental health and it feels like this is your forever. But then a few days later you have a really great day. Cherish those good days. Return to them in your mind when the rough days hit.

“This too shall pass” applies to diabetes more than almost anything. Everything in this life is temporary. You can still find stillness in the storm. God is the one unchanging truth in all moments — look for Him during struggle, and remember to give thanks during peace.

9. Community matters — we weren’t meant to do this alone.

There is something healing about knowing someone else gets it without you needing to explain. Diabetes can be isolating, but connection dissolves shame. The more we talk, support each other, share our highs and lows, the easier this journey becomes.

10. Self-love is blood sugar management, too.

The kinder I am to myself, the better my numbers behave. Truly. Shame spikes stress, and stress spikes blood sugar. But self-compassion activates safety in the body. Talking to yourself gently — even when you’re frustrated — is a form of medicine.

11. Forgive your body — it’s doing its best for you.

It’s easy to feel betrayed by your pancreas or resentful of your body. But our bodies are constantly trying to keep us alive. They’re not against us. They are for us. They just need more help.

Forgiving your body opens the door to partnership instead of punishment.

12. Freedom begins with acceptance.

Acceptance isn’t giving up — it’s releasing resistance. Acceptance allows you to work with your condition instead of exhausting yourself fighting against it. The more I accepted diabetes as part of my life (not my identity), the freer I became.

13. God is in the details — even the glucose readings.

God isn’t distant from your daily experience; He’s right there in the tiny moments… the lows that come out of nowhere, the highs that make no sense, the miraculous 110 mg/dL that follows a day of chaos.

He is close enough to care about the smallest fluctuations. Nothing is too small for Him to hold.

14. Your diagnosis isn’t your doom; it’s your doorway to purpose.

I used to think diabetes ruined my life. Now I realize it shaped me for it. My diagnosis didn’t end my purpose — it introduced me to it. Diabetes taught me compassion, discipline, faith, resilience, spiritual awareness, surrender, and strength.

It’s not the thing that took me out — it’s the thing that trained me up.

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Final Thoughts

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I don’t believe God “gifted” me diabetes. I am 99.9% convinced this chronic illness was crafted straight from the devil himself — and if you live with it, I’m sure you’d agree! So when I ever speak of diabetes being a “blessing,” I do not mean it originated from God…

What I mean is this:
God can take what was meant to destroy us and turn it into victory.
He can turn curses into blessings, pain into gain, frustration into compassion, and fear into faith as we continually practice deeper obedience and trust in Him.

Romans 8:28 says,
“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.”

He can transform any perceivable bad into good — darkness into light, loss into resurrection — for those who love Him.

And that has truly been the greatest lesson of all.