Friday, October 12, 2007

Dental Pride


The dentist used to be fun. Our dentist in Austin was this somewhat cooky old man who most definitely has a crush on my mother. The hygenist was an old family friend of ours, so she would occupy the awkward silence of teeth scrapping with her pleasant chatter. They would always rave about how healthy my teeth were & the fact that I had no cavities. It was fun. And then we moved to Louisville. Yes, I'll admit that it had been a year or two since I went to the dentist. I sat in a dentist's office for four hours last April while Kevin has his broken teeth fixed...does that count? Apparently not because I heard those fatal words uttered by my new dentist this morning that I've gone 24 years without hearing:


"You have a cavity."


What? Certainly not me! Well, it's true. I have to admit that the Lord has shaken my pride. I'm thankful for that at least. It might sound silly, but my confidence can never be in my unblemished dental track record or anything else other than Christ. Just like my teeth, my heart is quite imperfect, and that's why I am so greatly in need of Jesus as my savior. Maybe it's a stretch but why can't we learn things about God's character in the dentist chair? So back I go in a week or so to undergo the knife. Yikes!

10 comments:

Kevin and Becky said...

My wife goes under the knife so soon, so please leave her a kind word of encouragment...I mean you made it this far to the comment section, might as well.

kevin

Chris & Sarah Peek said...

Beck,

It's not that bad! You'll do fine. Go get 'um you dental fighting (in this case submitting) Christian.
Kevin- do you think this will work or should I write another one?

Chris

Jennifer said...

You might want to check that dentist out more closely... I've had a couple of cavities since I reached adulthood and not a single one required a knife to fix. Just a needle for anesthetic and a drill to dig out the offending decay.
I hope all goes well - knife or drill!

Chris & Sarah Peek said...

Beck, I feel your pain (quite literally!) but be encouraged that getting a filling isn't all that bad and that the Lord is teaching you all about the consequences of sin in our world! Miss you sister.

Sarah

Jamie Butts said...

I agree with Jennifer. Uncle Bill just gave me the drill, but I didn't feel it at all. I wish you (and Kevin back when) could have my Uncle as a dentist. He's the best. :)

Unknown said...

Yea - a new blog stalker, but that's okay - cuz I stalk ya'lls from the Hoovers occasionally too! Enjoy keeping up with ya'lls seminary adventures in KY.

Unknown said...

Aww Beck! So sorry! :( What a good connection between imperfect teeth and imperfect hearts! I'll be thinking about that and praying for you!

Shannon said...

Poor Beck! You'll do fine; hopefully they caught it early, and it's tiny! And now, they've got better stuff than the metal filling. They use some kind of "polymer" that they cure with an ultraviolet light (and it's "tooth-colored" - so it's less noticeable). Unless, you have one of those "back-woods KY dentists"... then, prep yourself for a pick axe.
Side note: I had to ask my darling hubby how to spell "noticeable" b/c every way I typed it, it looked wrong. Then I doubted him, so I looked it up, and he was right. I married a fabulous speller!

Matt and Terra said...

I'm a little late on this, buthoepfully the time has come and gone and you have seen that it is not that bad. I've only had a handful of cavities, but the first one is the scariest! I hope you didn't have any problems.

Anonymous said...

Oh no! Me too, right before we left I had one as well. We don't have dental insurance so I parked myself in the University of Louisville's dental clinic. I kept telling Will that I will no longer tease him for being a dental hygiene perfectionist- and additionally, we aren't in such a great country for good dental care :(

And, looks like we are in the same boat with eyesight- it keeps getting worse. I also think that my eye has changed shape. I can barely wear my contacts yet I am too cheap to do anything about it considering I ordered $200 worth of contacts before we left to avoid the brutal expense here. Contact solution- generic brand- costs minimally $22!!!!