One Prescription Gone. Just Not the One I Expected

Managing Diabetes involves making several decisions each day, like what to eat and what not to eat. It also involves two or three doctor’s visits per year as well as the occasional visit to the pharmacy. One thing I did not count on is the fact that managing diabetes sometimes involves having to deal with rejection letters from health insurance providers, especially when the day job changes insurance companies. That happened to me this year and it resulted in a denial of one of my prescriptions. Since my goal is to get rid of all my prescriptions, I am fine with dropping one. I just wish it wasn’t the prescription for my constant glucose monitor (CGM): the most useful tool I had for making the changes I need to get back to “normal”.

To be honest, I should have seen it coming. When I was first diagnosed, the insurance company that we were paying at that time did not want to cover a CGM, sending me a denial letter in which they basically accused me of not taking my diagnoses seriously. I think they based that on the fact that I did not do things their way: going to a dietitian, signing up for their special monitoring program, etc. As I wrote in “Continuous Glucose Monitors Are Game Changers,” I am a researcher and I chose to find my own answers when it came to diet, exercise and other ways of managing diabetes. It seems as if the insurance company did not like that. Eventually, there would be a change in policy, and the insurance company began paying for the Dexcom G7 but it took two different appeals to get to that point.

As I wrote in the post mentioned earlier, having a CGM is a game changer for diabetics and should be a standard part of the health regimen for those dealing with the disease. I learned quite a bit while using the device and was able to make several big adjustments based on what I was seeing. During the second half of 2024, I was able to keep my readings in a very tight range resulting in an A1c that is trending in the right direction: remaining below 7 and hopefully at my next official reading it will be below 6.5. But what would life be without times of change and last year ended with a change in insurance carriers mentioned earlier.

I appreciate the fact that my day job offers one of the better insurance packages in the area and that they do their best to keep my out-of-pocket expenses from rising. To maintain that level of service at the right price, the company changed insurance providers at the start of this year. When they announced the change, I should have thought about the trouble I had with our previous provider in getting the CGM prescription approved. When it came time to renew the prescription this time around, I received a new denial letter describing the new company’s policy of only approving constant glucose monitors for people who are on insulin. I think this policy is a bit shortsighted as it overlooks the fact that a CGM could help keep me off insulin. My new insurance company would rather pay for treatment instead of paying for prevention.

So, I have lost what is a great tool for managing diabetes but while I am disappointed, I am not defeated. I believe that God is in control, and everything happens in His timing. God opened the door for me to get a prescription for the Dexcom G7 and this year He has closed that door and told me to move on. I have learned what I needed from wearing a CGM and God has said it is time to start getting off of my prescriptions. The first of them is done and gone. Now, in Christ, I work to get off them all.

What Did Moses Hear Part 3: His Name, The LORD

What Did Moses Hear Part 3: His Name, The LORD

Exodus 34 tells us that at God’s command, Moses cut two new stones, replacing the two that he broke over the golden calf, and took an early morning hike up Mount Sinai. There, in the midst of the cloud, the LORD descended and stood with Moses. As described in What Did Moses See, we know that something special happened at that moment and yet we are not sure exactly what Moses saw. The passage does tell us exactly what Moses heard as the LORD kept His promise from chapter 33:

Then He said, “I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before you.”

Exodus 33:19 (NKJV)

Exodus 34:5-7

As the LORD’s goodness passes before Moses, the Bible says He proclaimed His name but what He says beginning in Exodus 34:6 seems more like a proclamation of a title as opposed to a “name” as we would think of today. This title gives us a description of God’s nature which was often true in the Old Testament where names reveal a person’s character. And because this is coming from the LORD, I believe this is an important passage to understand.

The first thing He says is, “The LORD.” I looked at a handful of sources and it seems that the word used here is, “Yahweh,” which is the covenant name used by God in the Old Testament. According to biblestudytools.com, “The English language doesn’t have an exact translation of the word “Yahweh,” and this is why we see it written as “LORD”. The website goes on to point out that in Exodus 3:14 (in the passage where we first see the name used in the Bible), “...God uses ‘I AM’ and ‘Yahweh’ interchangeably.” 

So what we have is the word “LORD” which is very different from the word “Lord”. “Lord” is a title for someone who is in control: someone who is the master over someone else or over some domain. Most certainly God is Lord but “LORD” is different. LORD or “Yahweh” is about God being self-existent and eternal, as again pointed out by biblestudytools.com. God has always existed, does not need anyone in order to exist and will always exist. And so in declaring Himself as “The LORD”, God is telling Moses and us about His eternal nature.

As His covenant name, “Yahweh” is also God’s declaration that He will keep His end of the covenant even though the people had broken it when they worshipped the golden calf. Going once again to biblestudytools.com we see that this is a name that says that He is a relational God. He wants to have a very close personal relationship with us, so much so that He gave His only begotten Son (John 3:16). This is still very important today as it means He will not break His covenant with us, a covenant sealed in the blood of Jesus our Lord.

Exodus 3:15 tells us that this is His name forever and is how He should be known to all generations. I believe that means that this is how we should know Him today: Eternal and relational. He is the everlasting God and He wants to share in a close relationship with you. Will you open your arms to “The LORD”?

See also:

What Did Moses See?

Biblestudytools.com

Random Thoughts February 14, 2025

Mental Toughness

Earlier this week I watched the Fox Television Program, “Extracted.” For those who have never seen it, this is a reality game show where twelve amateur survivalists live on their own in the wilderness while family members watch back at their headquarters. The family can hear but cannot talk to the survivalists. If needed the family can hit an “extract” button to pull the survivalist out but that means the family misses out on $250,000.

I like watching competitions and am looking forward to the rest of the first season of Extracted but there were a couple of things that bothered me during the first two episodes. Just like on Survivor and other shows like this there is always someone, often a black person, who does not know how to swim. Blacks in America really should make sure our children learn how to swim, not just for survival competitions but for survival in life. There is also usually someone who is not mentally prepared for the competition. That was the case with the first person extracted on this show. When I see this I often wonder what that person thought they were getting themselves into.

I also find myself wondering if I am mentally tough enough to do something like that. A much younger version of me, to be honest, was not mentally tough enough. I probably would have quit the first time I faced any kind of hardship. I believe (I hope) I am different today. I don’t know for sure because I’ve never really faced that kind of hardship but I hope that I could. I don’t take any credit for this change as it is all work that God has done to help me overcome being lost in my mom’s alcoholism and all that comes with that. I have been changed and I thank God for healing me and setting me free.

Spiritually there is something I have to remember no matter the trial. God will provide what I need. I believe this would even apply if I was on a survival game show and in real life that helps me deal with the day to day. God is my provider

He Holds the Future

President Trump, with the help of Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), is doing exactly what he campaigned on: cutting government excess. I agree with the idea but I’m not comfortable with the process, which will have an indirect effect on my current day job. And as coworkers and people in the same industry (scientific research) share their (justified and very valid) fears, I am at peace. I’ve been here before: those situations where the future is cloudy. Each time God came through, opening the right doors and providing for my needs. This time will be no different. God holds the future!

Is It Constitutional?

I’m not sure if all that the president and his administration are doing is constitutional but I’m not the courts. I agree that we need a smaller government but I think the president may have skipped some steps. For example, the proposed cuts at NIH seem as if they were made without really talking with the stakeholders. Ultimately, I trust that things will work out and I don’t believe we will have the constitutional crises that some fear. Will the limits of executive power be tested? That has already happened and will continue but I believe that the system will work as designed.

Fly Eagles Fly

As I type this, the Philadelphia Eagles’ Parade of Champions is moving through the city of Philadelphia on its way to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. My day job did not fully open today as we knew the city would be crazy, so I worked from home. (Hey, my work email is still open and visible on my desktop.) Back when the Phillies won the World Series I made the mistake of going into work on parade day. My trip home took forever as I wound up leaving right as the parade ended. They expect 1 million fans in the city for the Eagles’ celebration. Looking at the crowd on television, I think that estimate might be a bit low.

Having lived in Philadelphia for quite some time I’ve come to understand Philly fans, having suffered a number of deep disappointments with them. But today is about a celebration and I thank the Eagles for bringing the Vince Lombardi Trophy home.

Congrats to the Eagles and to the city of Philadelphia!

By the way, the best Super Bowl Commercial was the Nike “Love, Hurts,” commercial that aired after the final gun.