1 Thessalonians 5:18
in everything give thanks ; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.
This is not the first time I have started with 1 Thessalonians 5:18, nor is it the first time that I have written concerning root canals. Please see the July 10, 2006 post “Thanking God for the Little Things.”
Last Thursday I went to the dentist to have my six month cleaning. All seemed to be going so well until I complained about some occasional and reoccurring pain I was having but unable to isolate exactly where it was coming from. So, the dentist wanted to run some “vitality” tests on my teeth. This is something she had done six months earlier without any conclusive result.
I was marched over to the dentist chair where the assistant began by placing a very cold q-tip on my teeth, seeing how I would respond. At this point, everything seemed “okay.” Then she place something hot on my teeth and two of my teeth responded somewhat negatively. Finally I received the electric shock treatment. The assistant placed this device on each of my teeth and sent a small electrical current through it. The idea is that if the nerves are alive, you will feel the shock fairly quickly. This procedure was done on one tooth that took some time before I felt it. Then it was done on a second tooth that I felt fairly quickly. Then it was done on a third tooth. She kept asking me, “Do you feel that? Do you feel that?” I responded calmly, “No.” She informed me that she had run the current as high as it would go and that if she placed this on any of my other teeth, I would be on the ceiling. In other words, my tooth was nerve dead (which I found unnerving because there are not cavities, no fillings, no cracks – just a nerve dead tooth).
So then, the dentist comes in and informs me of the good news (at the time I didn’t know what all this meant). “Mr. Godfrey, you need two root canals.” My heart sank. You see, I should already own stock in my dentist’s office; my wife having had five root canals and with me fixing to have two. I of course tried to find any other explanation. You see, I have had severe tooth problems in the past, pain so intense that I thought it would kill me – and this was nothing like that. Yet, my dentist assured me that the one tooth was completely nerve dead and would need a root canal and that a second tooth was dying and would also need to be done.
Well, needless to say, I left the dentist’s office distraught. More money to the dentist – oh joy. I went back to the car saying, “O Lord, why?” and spent a few moments in quiet prayer trying to sort through it all. Then I called my wife, who, while surprised at the findings had the attitude of, “O well, not a biggy, we’ll just do what needs to be done.” While I was still in the parking lot, one of the men of the church called me and sensing my dismay asked me what was up. I told him the story and he, in his always straight and humor way, called me to leave it all to God. Of course, I just wanted a reason as to why all this was happening.
Then I was reminded of a story from Corrie Ten Boom’s “The Hiding Place.” She relates a story about being in one of the prisons that was virtually overrun with fleas. Corrie complained often to her sister about the fleas. Her sister would constantly tell her to thank God for the fleas. Of course, Corrie want to know how she could be thankful for those fleas. Well, as it turned out, the fleas were so bad that the prison guards would not come into the buildings and so the prisoners were free to gather together and have Bible studies. Without the fleas, there would not have been any Bible study.
Now, I am not at this time sure as to why my wife and I have been blessed with root canals, but I am going to work diligently on being thankful for them for I know that God is at work and my prayer is that He will be glorified through it all.
in everything give thanks ; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.
This is not the first time I have started with 1 Thessalonians 5:18, nor is it the first time that I have written concerning root canals. Please see the July 10, 2006 post “Thanking God for the Little Things.”
Last Thursday I went to the dentist to have my six month cleaning. All seemed to be going so well until I complained about some occasional and reoccurring pain I was having but unable to isolate exactly where it was coming from. So, the dentist wanted to run some “vitality” tests on my teeth. This is something she had done six months earlier without any conclusive result.
I was marched over to the dentist chair where the assistant began by placing a very cold q-tip on my teeth, seeing how I would respond. At this point, everything seemed “okay.” Then she place something hot on my teeth and two of my teeth responded somewhat negatively. Finally I received the electric shock treatment. The assistant placed this device on each of my teeth and sent a small electrical current through it. The idea is that if the nerves are alive, you will feel the shock fairly quickly. This procedure was done on one tooth that took some time before I felt it. Then it was done on a second tooth that I felt fairly quickly. Then it was done on a third tooth. She kept asking me, “Do you feel that? Do you feel that?” I responded calmly, “No.” She informed me that she had run the current as high as it would go and that if she placed this on any of my other teeth, I would be on the ceiling. In other words, my tooth was nerve dead (which I found unnerving because there are not cavities, no fillings, no cracks – just a nerve dead tooth).
So then, the dentist comes in and informs me of the good news (at the time I didn’t know what all this meant). “Mr. Godfrey, you need two root canals.” My heart sank. You see, I should already own stock in my dentist’s office; my wife having had five root canals and with me fixing to have two. I of course tried to find any other explanation. You see, I have had severe tooth problems in the past, pain so intense that I thought it would kill me – and this was nothing like that. Yet, my dentist assured me that the one tooth was completely nerve dead and would need a root canal and that a second tooth was dying and would also need to be done.
Well, needless to say, I left the dentist’s office distraught. More money to the dentist – oh joy. I went back to the car saying, “O Lord, why?” and spent a few moments in quiet prayer trying to sort through it all. Then I called my wife, who, while surprised at the findings had the attitude of, “O well, not a biggy, we’ll just do what needs to be done.” While I was still in the parking lot, one of the men of the church called me and sensing my dismay asked me what was up. I told him the story and he, in his always straight and humor way, called me to leave it all to God. Of course, I just wanted a reason as to why all this was happening.
Then I was reminded of a story from Corrie Ten Boom’s “The Hiding Place.” She relates a story about being in one of the prisons that was virtually overrun with fleas. Corrie complained often to her sister about the fleas. Her sister would constantly tell her to thank God for the fleas. Of course, Corrie want to know how she could be thankful for those fleas. Well, as it turned out, the fleas were so bad that the prison guards would not come into the buildings and so the prisoners were free to gather together and have Bible studies. Without the fleas, there would not have been any Bible study.
Now, I am not at this time sure as to why my wife and I have been blessed with root canals, but I am going to work diligently on being thankful for them for I know that God is at work and my prayer is that He will be glorified through it all.
Soli Deo Gloria,
Pastor Ed
2 comments:
Is your dentist a Christian?
Why do you ask? I think at least by profession, but have not been able to engage too deeply.
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