Our Kryptonite

Take a second and imagine you are Superman. ... Are you there? Okay, well, even though you're Superman you can't fly, and you still can get a cold, cancer, or break your leg. So I guess you are really some knock-off brand of Superman or maybe you are just plain Clark Kent. BUT the one thing that still rings true is that Kryptonite can kill you. Kinda scary. But, you say, only the "bad guys" like Lex Luther have Kryptonite, right? No!! Kryptonite is everywhere!!! Your best friends have jars of it. Your grandmother keeps a can of it next to her rocker. It's in the mall, at Wal-Mart, and there is enough Kryptonite in your local grocery store to kill a thousand Supermans! Your favorite candy bar says, "May Contain Traces of Kryptonite." Your favorite holiday dessert is made with 95% pure Kryptonite. Every single cookie on the cookie aisle (minus Oreos, thank goodness) contains or may contain Kryptonite so you just can't risk it. So, what do you do?? You avoid these things. No more pretzels at the mall. No more Chinese with the fam. No more ice cream from most ice cream places, no more visits to Grandma without the can of Kryptonite on the highest shelf in the pantry, and your friends have to hide their jars of it lest you get exposed.... sigh. This makes you sad. You know the world is not perfect. You know that you are capable of being hurt. But having Kryptonite - your poison - everywhere is pretty overwhelming. You don't want to inconvenience your grandma or your friends.You don't want to read labels. You want to simply enjoy your favorite Holiday treat. But the world is broken. Your body is broken. And in order to stay healthy, you must stay away from Kryptonite.
Okay. You are not Superman anymore. You may have guessed by now where I was going with this. Peanuts and Tree Nuts are Eli's Kryptonite, and therefore, our family's Kryptonite. We found out about three weeks ago after visiting the allergist after an adverse reaction to peanut butter. I was SHOCKED. If you had asked me two months ago if I thought I'd be reading, "How to Deal with Your Child's Life Threatening Food Allergy" or the "Peanut Allergy Handbook," I would have laughed. I NEVER thought we'd be that family. I don't know why. I just didn't. But, now we are, and it's been adjustment. Like I tried to portray above, peanuts and/or tree nuts are IN EVERYTHING. We are now "label readers," which is pretty annoying but something we gladly do in order to protect Eli. It's a lifestyle change, but certainly not the end of the world. All of this has just opened to my eyes as to how healthy my kids are. It has made me more sensitive to other families with allergies...especially those with multiple allergies (like peanuts, milk and egg - don't know how they do it!) I have realized how much I adore food...especially that of the peanut butter variety (peanut butter balls, Reese's, etc etc etc) -- have I made food an idol??
So, in a nutshell (haha), I hope to learn and grow from this. I serve a mighty God who I trust and who loves my son. Peanut butter flavored Kryptonite or not, life will go on, and God is good.