Mary really didn’t want to go to the dentist. In fact, she kept coming up with every excuse not to go. The weather certainly posed a threat to life and limb and certainly going to the dentist even more so. She laughed to herself at the silliness of her fears. Her husband wasn’t helping much because when she suggested to him maybe there was nothing wrong, after all there was no pain, he insisted she go. Just do it and do it afraid, had been one woman speaker’s suggestion.
Thinking on this Mary had shoveled off her car, backed out of the driveway, and driven down the street slowly as it was quite a mess out there. All the cars were moving at a snail’s pace. The new covering of white stuff blanketed the existing mounds of snow. Cars were parked wherever they could as the plows hadn’t been around to remove the last snow that filled all the parking spaces. People dressed in heavy parkas, big mitts and heavy boots lifted their legs over the embankments and moved slowly around precariously parked cars.
“What on earth am I doing going to the dentist?” Mary thought. Even though the dentist was only two blocks away Mary was still trying to weasel her way out of going. Despite this last attempt Mary suddenly found herself safely at the dentist office.
It all happened so quickly! Mary had been in shock when she left! Mary couldn’t believe what transpired. It was truly amazing! By now, you the reader are quite curious and asking yourself what did happen to Mary. Well, I shall tell you.
Mary had walked in, perched herself in a waiting room chair, and within a minute or so the dental assistant had welcomed Mary into the office. She sat Mary down in the long, white dental chair. Mary had no time to get nervous. She should have been because the new dentist she was seeing was only 33 years old! The nurse seemed to think this was not young but Mary had been 33 years old and had memories of her own shortcomings at that age.
However, there was no time to think about anything. The young professional, using modern equipment took a picture of her tooth with his little camera and put it up on the screen for them to look at. This was amazing in itself because she didn’t have to undergo an x-ray nor endure the potential radioactive threat attached to this procedure. This was modern medicine. Mary realized maybe it was a good thing the dentist was a little younger.
Smiling a big Cheshire smile Mary’s thin, 5 foot 3, dimpled dentist indicated there was a crack and they needed to fix it before the tooth broke away. However, before Mary had time to indicate that she might like to have the tooth frozen this confident little man initiated the procedure by proceeding to put a drill into her mouth and to cut away and smooth down the area he was mending. Mary, with her mouth opened, couldn’t do anything but let him proceed! In the past, despite a tooth having a root canal, Mary had never let anyone do a filling without freezing it. This was a first for Mary! Everything happened so speedily that in less than a half hour Mary was in and out of the dental chair. She was elated and told the young man that his confidence and speed had amazed her.
Driving home Mary realized two things. One was that she had taken a step of faith and just gone to the dentist afraid. Secondly, that God had answered her prayer and it had not been a major surgery that transpired! Mary had gone in faith and felt so blessed. Remarkably, Mary knew that in all the other issues she faced she needed to take just simple steps of faith whether it be going back to the old food bank, phoning a contractor, or even in dealing with her physical problems. Whatever she faced Mary knew she must just go forward and do the next thing at hand and see where it led. Of course, for Mary this meant facing her fears. They included increased debt in regards to the house, physical pain if what ailed her was worse than she thought, or the possibility of rejection if she went back to the food bank. However, after this morning’s awesome experience Mary realized she had to “just do it”. So just do it, she would! Thinking back again over what had happened Mary laughed to herself how easy it had all been. “It had been God’s grace!” Mary exclaimed to no one in particular.
And that’s what it was dear reader: grace, simply grace in action, as one faithful soul did what was at hand to do. What about you? Does Mary’s story intrigue you, egg you on, or will you fear to do what is obviously at hand? The answer is simple: just do it, dear friend, - and do it afraid, if need be!
Friday, February 26, 2010
Waiting and Deciding
Hopeful spring had sprung its wings and flown south again, or so it seemed to Mary. For over a week snow fall after snow fall had shattered her hopes for a change in the season. Her pretty Robin had disappeared and most of the birds had become silent in the enveloping snow.
Life had taken a turn though. It seemed Mary’s time at the food bank was at an end. Due to the circumstances it seemed the right thing to do. Oddly, at the very moment she contemplated leaving one of the women who she had volunteered with at the other food bank had come up to her at church and shared how much she missed her being there. Crystal was a very beautiful woman and like her name everything she said was crystal clear with no hint of deception behind her words. Mary had not made much of the conversation until she shared with Diane, her friend and mentor, about what had happened at the mission and Robin’s suggestion he didn’t want Mary there anymore. Diane, always a very forthright person asked, ”Well, does that mean you are coming back to our food bank? “
Mary had smiled a big smile and indicated that Crystal, a few days earlier, had encouraged Mary to return back with her warm invitation of love. Mary had been tempted. However, she did not know if she should go back. Was this God’s direction? Mary wasn’t sure. She didn’t know how she fit in and didn’t believe in going backwards.
However, other complications arose during this time to draw Mary away from rushing back to the food bank. Mary had recently felt pain in her private parts. Not wanting to go to a doctor again so soon after her last visit she had gone and self-medicated with some Canesten Cream. It was a one day procedure which left Mary uncomfortable the following day as it burned as the cream left her body. The day after this Mary suddenly couldn’t stop urinating or at least she felt like she had to urinate. To Mary this was a warning sign that she might have a bladder infection or something worse.
The following morning Mary went to the walk in clinic. Just her luck her own private practitioner was on duty that day! After the second long wait in the last two weeks at a doctor’s office Mary finally got into to see her physician. After a short conversation Doctor Lovell felt they should take care of the bladder infection for that is what the urine test suggested. He indicated that if the discomfort and bloatedness that Mary had been feeling around the area above her vagina did not go away with the antibiotics they would do a “culture”.
It was now two days later and the discomfort of the pressure and frequency with her urination had all but gone. The doctor had given her three pills which were knocking out anything that might be there. Mary hoped this was the end to the problem. She would know if the discomfort in her vagina was still there the next time she and Robin made love. For now she was holding off just in case their love making irritated it even more. Just like spring’s delay there was a sense of postponement to Mary’s well-being.
Mary had been faithful to take her cholesterol pills, not quite so faithful with exercising, and until last night had been constant in watching what she ate. However, she had such a craving for chocolate and salty stuff. It began with her husband’s decision to go to the store for some cream. He had asked an innocent question; was there anything Mary wanted at the store. Poor Robin was sent on a difficult task: to find some chocolate without cholesterol in it. He managed to find some with a low count but Mary hadn’t really cared what percentage of cholesterol the chocolate contained. She had opened the bag at the kitchen counter while brewing tea. Her intention was to have her tea with the candy. Mary had gobbled down half the bag by the time her drink was ready! Afterwards she felt very disgusted with herself especially when she had eaten a quarter of a bag of a salty snack Robin brought her, as well! Though it had no cholesterol it was very high in fat and salt. Both things were bad for her, she knew that.
Was Mary feeling a little defeated? If that had of been her first diet and her first failure, she might have been. But after so many years of going off the deep end she knew there was always tomorrow. Besides this Mary had a deep sense of faith in God and His second chances, and his third and fourth!
She got up the next morning with a new sense of determination, repented of her sin, and decided she better throw the temptations out. Mary knew she could not even have these goodies in the house because if there she would eat them. That was a fact.
Mary decided to get on with the day and on with second chances and through the windows curtains aside to see what the world had to offer. It was looking pretty wintery out there with a fresh snow fall and a bitter north wind drifting the snow around her car. It had almost disappeared in the fresh blanket.
Her day would consist of going to the dentist to check on a tooth that seemed a little rough around the edges. Mary didn’t know if this was new or if it had always been like that. She had just discovered it when she had gotten a piece of candy stuck in it and tried to pry it out. Now she had to go to the dentist. It was the fruits of her latest endeavors! “Ugh”, she moaned to herself, she hated dentists so.
Despite the impending dentist’s visit Mary had still other things on her mind. Besides wanting to paint and re-do the kitchen, pave the front drive, and numerous others things some attention had to be paid to the house and its energy efficiency. Last month’s electric bill had been $553!
So this week, an energy advisor had come to their house and investigated where the energy losses were. Mary knew: they were everywhere! However, Mary’s opinion was not enough to get rebates for insulation and other fix ups that the house badly needed to run more efficiently. After an extensive search by Scotland Yard, her Mr. Holmes had come up with the same summation as Mary: it was everywhere!
After the consultant left Mary read over the material in the folders and was overwhelmed at all that needed to be done. Despite future rebates coming back in two to three months they would have to pay out of their pocket in the meantime. Mary thought to herself: and what if the government chose not to pay because more work needed to be done or some other excuse? What then? What was worse was that the basement walls were bulging and leaking. This meant there were “structural problems” according to one of the pamphlets!
Now what? Did they call a contractor and have him come and estimate how much it would cost to fix the basement? Mary knew that wouldn’t be cheap as the basement had been dug out from a crawl space to house a furnace. It was not a pretty sight. Until Robin had put in sturdy stairs it had been almost impossible to go down there on the rough- in’s built out of pieces of jagged and broken boards. It was cold, dusty, and musty. Anything she had stored down there had to be thrown out –especially fabrics or clothes. As a result, it served little purpose other than to contain the furnace and its duct work.
Neither Mary nor Robin knew what to do at this point as half the money her ex had sent her was gone on paying visa and other charge cards as well as paying this advisor and some other overdue bills. Should they just leave the work; for it seemed they really needed to deal with the basement before they even put any insulation down there? It was one of the leakiest places with cold air coming through the cracking walls and seeping up through the floors. They could not really insulate until the foundation was fixed. If they did the insulating it might be undermined by some future emergency with the precarious foundational situation. So nothing had been done.
It seemed for the present Mary was waiting; waiting to see if her bladder infection was all that was wrong, waiting to see if eating better would change her cholesterol and have a positive effect on her heart. Mary and life seemed in suspended animation. That was okay. Perhaps, Mary thought to herself, this is all about being patient. Spring was coming; there was no doubt about that. Despite what she saw outside the change in season was going to happen. Like everything else in her life right now Mary needed faith. She had to look past the obvious and trust God was at work on her behalf. After all, didn’t it say, “all things work together for good for those who trust God and are called”? Yep, it sure did. However, Mary knew trusting meant taking steps of faith.
So despite the delay in weather, in health and in doing any work on the house, it was okay. Even making the decision whether or not Mary should go back to the old food bank could wait. God would show Himself in each situation. Time would tell. All it took was looking up at Him beyond the problems. God was on her side. In each situation He would provide an answer and a way out. God always had been there. She would trust Him once more for that was what it was all about.
Mary took another look out the window at what she saw. She closed the drapes quickly to keep out the cold drafts. Spring was coming and soon the answers and solutions to her problems. All she needed to do was take whatever step of faith God called her to.
“And that was that”, Mary said to herself. With that Mary realized she must release these burdens into His loving arms. Tomorrow was another day and today had enough worries of its own. In the meantime, Mary would live in the moment. Right now that meant getting dressed and taking the dogs out and then going to the dreaded dentist! Everything would be okay. Her life was in His hands.
Life had taken a turn though. It seemed Mary’s time at the food bank was at an end. Due to the circumstances it seemed the right thing to do. Oddly, at the very moment she contemplated leaving one of the women who she had volunteered with at the other food bank had come up to her at church and shared how much she missed her being there. Crystal was a very beautiful woman and like her name everything she said was crystal clear with no hint of deception behind her words. Mary had not made much of the conversation until she shared with Diane, her friend and mentor, about what had happened at the mission and Robin’s suggestion he didn’t want Mary there anymore. Diane, always a very forthright person asked, ”Well, does that mean you are coming back to our food bank? “
Mary had smiled a big smile and indicated that Crystal, a few days earlier, had encouraged Mary to return back with her warm invitation of love. Mary had been tempted. However, she did not know if she should go back. Was this God’s direction? Mary wasn’t sure. She didn’t know how she fit in and didn’t believe in going backwards.
However, other complications arose during this time to draw Mary away from rushing back to the food bank. Mary had recently felt pain in her private parts. Not wanting to go to a doctor again so soon after her last visit she had gone and self-medicated with some Canesten Cream. It was a one day procedure which left Mary uncomfortable the following day as it burned as the cream left her body. The day after this Mary suddenly couldn’t stop urinating or at least she felt like she had to urinate. To Mary this was a warning sign that she might have a bladder infection or something worse.
The following morning Mary went to the walk in clinic. Just her luck her own private practitioner was on duty that day! After the second long wait in the last two weeks at a doctor’s office Mary finally got into to see her physician. After a short conversation Doctor Lovell felt they should take care of the bladder infection for that is what the urine test suggested. He indicated that if the discomfort and bloatedness that Mary had been feeling around the area above her vagina did not go away with the antibiotics they would do a “culture”.
It was now two days later and the discomfort of the pressure and frequency with her urination had all but gone. The doctor had given her three pills which were knocking out anything that might be there. Mary hoped this was the end to the problem. She would know if the discomfort in her vagina was still there the next time she and Robin made love. For now she was holding off just in case their love making irritated it even more. Just like spring’s delay there was a sense of postponement to Mary’s well-being.
Mary had been faithful to take her cholesterol pills, not quite so faithful with exercising, and until last night had been constant in watching what she ate. However, she had such a craving for chocolate and salty stuff. It began with her husband’s decision to go to the store for some cream. He had asked an innocent question; was there anything Mary wanted at the store. Poor Robin was sent on a difficult task: to find some chocolate without cholesterol in it. He managed to find some with a low count but Mary hadn’t really cared what percentage of cholesterol the chocolate contained. She had opened the bag at the kitchen counter while brewing tea. Her intention was to have her tea with the candy. Mary had gobbled down half the bag by the time her drink was ready! Afterwards she felt very disgusted with herself especially when she had eaten a quarter of a bag of a salty snack Robin brought her, as well! Though it had no cholesterol it was very high in fat and salt. Both things were bad for her, she knew that.
Was Mary feeling a little defeated? If that had of been her first diet and her first failure, she might have been. But after so many years of going off the deep end she knew there was always tomorrow. Besides this Mary had a deep sense of faith in God and His second chances, and his third and fourth!
She got up the next morning with a new sense of determination, repented of her sin, and decided she better throw the temptations out. Mary knew she could not even have these goodies in the house because if there she would eat them. That was a fact.
Mary decided to get on with the day and on with second chances and through the windows curtains aside to see what the world had to offer. It was looking pretty wintery out there with a fresh snow fall and a bitter north wind drifting the snow around her car. It had almost disappeared in the fresh blanket.
Her day would consist of going to the dentist to check on a tooth that seemed a little rough around the edges. Mary didn’t know if this was new or if it had always been like that. She had just discovered it when she had gotten a piece of candy stuck in it and tried to pry it out. Now she had to go to the dentist. It was the fruits of her latest endeavors! “Ugh”, she moaned to herself, she hated dentists so.
Despite the impending dentist’s visit Mary had still other things on her mind. Besides wanting to paint and re-do the kitchen, pave the front drive, and numerous others things some attention had to be paid to the house and its energy efficiency. Last month’s electric bill had been $553!
So this week, an energy advisor had come to their house and investigated where the energy losses were. Mary knew: they were everywhere! However, Mary’s opinion was not enough to get rebates for insulation and other fix ups that the house badly needed to run more efficiently. After an extensive search by Scotland Yard, her Mr. Holmes had come up with the same summation as Mary: it was everywhere!
After the consultant left Mary read over the material in the folders and was overwhelmed at all that needed to be done. Despite future rebates coming back in two to three months they would have to pay out of their pocket in the meantime. Mary thought to herself: and what if the government chose not to pay because more work needed to be done or some other excuse? What then? What was worse was that the basement walls were bulging and leaking. This meant there were “structural problems” according to one of the pamphlets!
Now what? Did they call a contractor and have him come and estimate how much it would cost to fix the basement? Mary knew that wouldn’t be cheap as the basement had been dug out from a crawl space to house a furnace. It was not a pretty sight. Until Robin had put in sturdy stairs it had been almost impossible to go down there on the rough- in’s built out of pieces of jagged and broken boards. It was cold, dusty, and musty. Anything she had stored down there had to be thrown out –especially fabrics or clothes. As a result, it served little purpose other than to contain the furnace and its duct work.
Neither Mary nor Robin knew what to do at this point as half the money her ex had sent her was gone on paying visa and other charge cards as well as paying this advisor and some other overdue bills. Should they just leave the work; for it seemed they really needed to deal with the basement before they even put any insulation down there? It was one of the leakiest places with cold air coming through the cracking walls and seeping up through the floors. They could not really insulate until the foundation was fixed. If they did the insulating it might be undermined by some future emergency with the precarious foundational situation. So nothing had been done.
It seemed for the present Mary was waiting; waiting to see if her bladder infection was all that was wrong, waiting to see if eating better would change her cholesterol and have a positive effect on her heart. Mary and life seemed in suspended animation. That was okay. Perhaps, Mary thought to herself, this is all about being patient. Spring was coming; there was no doubt about that. Despite what she saw outside the change in season was going to happen. Like everything else in her life right now Mary needed faith. She had to look past the obvious and trust God was at work on her behalf. After all, didn’t it say, “all things work together for good for those who trust God and are called”? Yep, it sure did. However, Mary knew trusting meant taking steps of faith.
So despite the delay in weather, in health and in doing any work on the house, it was okay. Even making the decision whether or not Mary should go back to the old food bank could wait. God would show Himself in each situation. Time would tell. All it took was looking up at Him beyond the problems. God was on her side. In each situation He would provide an answer and a way out. God always had been there. She would trust Him once more for that was what it was all about.
Mary took another look out the window at what she saw. She closed the drapes quickly to keep out the cold drafts. Spring was coming and soon the answers and solutions to her problems. All she needed to do was take whatever step of faith God called her to.
“And that was that”, Mary said to herself. With that Mary realized she must release these burdens into His loving arms. Tomorrow was another day and today had enough worries of its own. In the meantime, Mary would live in the moment. Right now that meant getting dressed and taking the dogs out and then going to the dreaded dentist! Everything would be okay. Her life was in His hands.
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