The Love of Cheese

If you know my family, you know we are a cheese loving family. My little sister used to melt cheese, and only cheese, in a bowl and then eat it. We love cheese. Love it. Most of our meals revolve around it. And then there is chocolate. John likes to say that if we could dip cheese in chocolate, we'd all be in heaven. So here's the problem. Avery has to give it up. No cheese. And no milk or yogurt or butter. What in the world are we going to eat??????? Goodbye string cheeses, gogurts, bowls of cereal with milk, macaroni and cheese, ice cream, grilled cheese sandwiches, quesadillas, pizza..... Again, what in the world are we going to eat??????? I'm lucky that it isn't anything life-threatening, I don't know how I would even handle that. But still, I'm feeling a little overwhelmed. If you are wondering how we arrived at this situation, here's the short version. Everyone knows the problems Avery has had with her ears. Ruptured eardrum 6 times as of Monday. Sunday night, as I was trying to comfort her through the pain, praying for guidance and help, I had the strong impression that she could be healed. Not just on this occasion, but that whatever the underlying problem was causing so much ear trouble, it could be fixed. Before John gave her a blessing that night, I told him about my feelings. After he blessed her, he said that he had the same impression, and that he felt like it would involve changing something in her diet. I've always wondered if Avery's body had a mildly negative reaction to dairy, ever since she was a baby. A visit to the allergist confirmed the suspicion. The doctor recommended various things, low dose antibiotic for a few months, nasal sprays, tubes (which I'm sure everyone wonders why I don't just do it :), as well as eliminating dairy and eggs from her diet (reaction to eggs as well). After praying and pondering about it, John and I feel like that is the route we should take. It can be hard not to beat myself up as a parent, thinking that I should've figured out the connection sooner, but I'm grateful because as I look back over the last few weeks, I see evidence of the Lord's hand guiding me to this information and decision. He truly is there in the seemingly insignificant details of our lives.
PS-Hopefully it won't be permanent. In cases like hers, it is common for them to grow out of their allergy after avoiding exposure for an extended amount of time (6-12 months).