Pulling Teeth

Anika lost her 4th tooth the other day.

It’s been loose for a month. She’s been so scared of having it pulled out, that she made us promise that we wouldn’t touch it, and let it fall out by itself.

But then it didn’t come out for a month. And it got really annoying – bloody mouth when she ate, lots of complaining, lots of worrying, etc.

Finally, Ben announced on Tuesday that it was coming out, whether she liked it or not. It was this huge ordeal, and she was extremely scared.

In the middle of it all, I said to her, “Sometimes we need to go through a little bit of pain before things get a lot better.”

And I stopped. And thought about what I had just said. Really? Am I just saying that to my kid about a tooth, or do I really believe that? Because lately, God’s been trying to teach me stuff, and it hurts like crazy, and I’m complaining, and begging Him to take the pain away.

Can I not endure a little bit of pain so that things can get a lot better?

And then Ben pulled the tooth, and the first thing Anika said was, “That didn’t even hurt!”

WHAT?? All of that for nothing?!

And yet how often do I do the same? I make a big deal about stuff, and then looking back on it, I don’t even know what my problem was. God worked it all out. If I had just trusted Him and calmed down a bit, it would have been fine.

Lessons from pulling teeth…