I just realized that I’m a hypocrite! A BIG one!
The majority of my adult life I have been an advocate of trusting God, having faith in my Heavenly Father, being obedient to His Written Word, and His Prophetic Word. I have trained up my daughters in those tenets and instructed them with joy knowing that it was a privilege and an honor to do so. Sooooo sure…. sooooooo confident….
And yet….. last week, as I struggled to manage the extreme pain of a tooth that was misbehaving in a huge way, I quickly left my convictions to fend for myself. To figure out the problem. To figure out the solution. To call someone. To see someone. To get meds for the pain. And anti-biotics for the perceived abscess that was threatening the life of my tooth. Where was the peace that comes with trusting the One that loves me so much that He sent His Only Begotten Son to die on the cross for my sins? God watched.
To explain further… I consider myself someone that has a relatively high pain threshold, but the pain that I was experiencing had woken me up and had me in tears all through the night. The next day wasn’t any better. The pain was bad, but I was also mad, aware that so many people that I know are dealing with much more serious issues than a toothache, and yet here I was unable to do anything because the pain was all-consuming. There’s probably some pride issues at work here, but I was infuriated with my body… more specifically my tooth. I got in touch with my dentist who couldn’t see me because they were in the middle of an all-encompassing office relocation, but based on the symptoms, she felt certain that I had an abscessed tooth and I should see an oral surgeon immediately. She called in a prescription for narcotics and anti-biotics. I did more research. And God waited.
The options for an abscessed tooth are pathetic. I wasn’t interested in keeping a dead tooth in my mouth, or having an extraction, or an implant, or compromising two perfectly good teeth for one fake tooth. All have long-term repercussions for my over-all health and well-being that are very serious and that I have a serious problem with. All bad news. And God waited.
Enter Terry, my husband, my chiropractor, the spiritual leader of our family, the love of my life. “Let’s get you adjusted.” Alright.
As I lay on the adjusting table, after a much-needed adjustment, Terry held my head in his hands, palms over my lower jaw, and prayed. He prayed for healing, for peacefulness to come over my body and my mind, for the pain to be alleviated, for complete restoration. I wept. And God listened.
I believed for those things too. I did. I do. It’s my logical mind that understands limitation of matter and that the reversal of an abscessed tooth is… ohhhh, pretty much unheard of. So here comes the doubt. My lips were saying, “I’m holding out for a healing.” My fingers were looking on-line and dialing telephone numbers and driving me to someone I thought was an oral surgeon, even as the pain continued to subside, to be completely manageable, almost non-existent.
As she looked in my mouth and evaluated my situation, she was perplexed. When did this start? What were you experiencing? Does this hurt? Can you feel that? Completely confused. The tooth was not abscessed. I still didn’t get it. And God waited.
So today, as I sat across from my prayer warrior husband exclaiming in amazement at the lack of pain and how truly comfortable the tooth felt… he just looked at me, and said,”What did you expect, wife? We claimed it in Christ’s name.” And God smiled.
Being connected spiritually is not enough… being connected and believing and trusting… truly believing and trusting in the God of the Bible… that is living well.
In faith and in health,
Lisa
Loves Doves 