Broken Tooth

I broke a tooth.  I was eating some delicious carmel corn and had decided to eat the whole bag of it.  I took a break half way through the bag and got back to it the next day.  And that is when it happened.  I was getting to the bottom of the bag where there were a few kernels mixed in.  I'm not sure of when exactly it happened, but when I was all done eating it (not quite all of it) I felt like I had some corn skins in my teeth.  As I ran my tongue around my teeth I felt the sharp, jagged edges on the back molar.  Sure enough, a piece of tooth was missing.

Of course you only break a tooth on a Saturday, to give you extra time to feel the tooth.  I couldn't eat on that side and it hurt when the toothbrush hit it.  I had a nerve exposed.

Luckily the dentist fit me in on Monday morning.  I told him to just pull it.  But he showed me how the tooth was important for chewing.  Two teeth met up with that molar to grind food up.  So I had to get a crown.  He had to take out all of the old filling (it was a big one) and make a temporary crown.  He gave me the numbing shot but I still felt the nerve some.  Finally I got a temporary crown and will wait for my new one to be made in two weeks.

Later that day, I went to a counseling appointment.  I was talking about the hurts and sadness I recently experienced.  I was frustrated that it seemed people saw something wrong with me and I couldn't see it.  She encouraged me to pray to God to show me my blind spots, and that we all have them.  But that when God shows me those, it won't be with a feeling of shame, it will be very loving and gentle.  But it will probably be a pain to work on.  I thought of my tooth.  I couldn't live with it broken and the nerve exposed.  And to fix it is painful.  But the outcome will be a stronger and prettier tooth.  Right now the nerve is being exposed, but God, the great dentist is at work.

Christmas in America

This will be our first Christmas in America in a long time.  I'm not looking forward to it.  I have a job in retail and just last night we set up the Christmas merchandise.  As I was unloading boxes of stuff I almost felt sick.  Who needs all this stuff?

First I unpacked the stocking hooks.  These are different shaped items that sit on a shelf and have a hook to hang your stocking on.  There are ones shaped like trees, reindeer, and trains.  And then since we live near the ocean there are also ones shaped like lighthouses and anchors.

Then I got to unpack the bathroom Christmas section.  And that is when I started to feel sick.  10 different shower curtains to choose from with all the collection of towels, soap dispensers, and even toilet lid covers.  Who spends a hundred bucks to decorate a bathroom?

As I finished up and went home I thought through all the items and realized not a single one had anything to do with Jesus.  No manger scenes, no angels, no wisemen.  Just snowmen and holly.  America has taken Jesus' birthday completely out of Christmas.