The Gift of a Toothache

By Shawna Wright

Being self employed has been one of the biggest gifts God has given us. Although money is what first comes to mind as the reason, in our case growing our faith is. This is just one of hundreds of stories that I could tell, and it is best understood by a mother’s heart.

When you are self employed you become the first casualty when the economy sinks. It was one such time. Our daughter was complaining of a tooth ache. I took her to the dentist only to be informed that her filling had failed and that she either needed a root canal and crown or an extraction. My heart was heavy.  What parent wants to have their child’s permanent tooth pulled. Although God had been providing our “have to’s” I knew there was no money for a costly tooth repair. It was a with a heavy heart I returned home and relayed the dentists recommendations to my husband.

We were left with only one choice—to have it pulled. Because of the nature of the procedure it was required that she have a check up with our family doctor before moving forward. I was embarrassed as I related to him why I needed the form filled. My embarrassment was only heightened when he chided me and said “he would NEVER have one of his daughter’s teeth pulled”.   I didn’t bother to reply, he didn’t understand how hard it was just to put food on the table. My heart ached.

The tooth was pulled and life continued. “Mom my teeth hurt, I can’t chew anything hard”.
The thought of another tooth problem hit my stomach. I looked and could see nothing but perfect teeth. The complaints continued so we returned to the dentist to make sure,       but like me he found nothing.

Several months later our daughter came to me. “Mom, the hole were my tooth was is gone!” I looked and sure enough every evidence of the extraction had vanished. I looked closer and what I discovered made this mother’s heart jump for joy! The extraction, as humiliating as it was, ended as a gift! The pain she had been experiencing was her teeth moving and shifting into place. Her once overcrowded teeth had not only moved and filled the gaping hole, but had evened out her teeth improving her already beautiful smile! That day I’m sure I felt God’s hug and gentle words “I can be trusted”. —