The last couple weeks I've noticed a trend, and it occurred to me that maybe God was wanting me to learn something from it. You see, I've encountered several individuals over the course of the last couple weeks who, due to some physical ailment or another, have either lost or damaged one of their senses or a limb. For instance, my grandma was recently diagnosed with glaucoma, which has left her struggling to see clearly. A precious friend, who has a disease that causes multiple non-cancerous brain tumors, just underwent another brain surgery. She has had multiple surgeries in her life, many impairing her vision and hearing, but she amazingly is one of the most positive people I know and has a wonderful testimony for the Lord. I also recently met a young lady who only has one leg (and that was the least of her losses!). It's amazing that all these things were going on around me, but it took a trip to the dentist to really make me stop and think about it......
A few days ago, as I already mentioned, I made a trip to the dentist to get a filling. As you might know, the numbness stays for a few hours, which caused me to talk funny and even bite my tongue a time or two. While this was obviously minor and temporary, it got me to thinking how amazing our senses are and how much they're taken for granted. Can you imagine how life would be without the ability to see or to hear? Or what about the sense of touch? How hard would it be to do normal everyday activities? God really did think of everything!
Then God brought to mind all of the individuals in my life who had been struggling with a loss of one or more of their senses or the loss of a limb. And it reminded of just how blessed I am! It's so easy to go day-to-day and take all of those things for granted, but God reminded that they are all gifts from Him! As I continued thinking, my mind went from blessing to blessing (and I'm sure it wasn't even a fraction of all that God has blessed me with!). And I couldn't help but have a smile on my face and a song in my heart! God is good! I'm praying that God continually helps me to see all the blessings He has given to me!
And speaking of senses, I have one more thought to share. I believe that God also gives us a sense of humor, perhaps to help us through the difficult times. I have a dry sense of humor, much like my dad. I like to think of it as quick-witted, although others may disagree :). So I have to share a quick story. (Keep in mind my dry sense of humor).
After my dentist took care of my filling, he needed to take impressions of both my upper & lower teeth. If you're not familiar with what that is, basically they fill a small tray-like structure with what I call "pink goo" and squish it into your mouth.....not exactly the funnest thing to do. He did the bottom teeth first, left the room for a short time, then returned to do the top. Again he left the room, returning a short time later to apologetically tell me that this is the first time ever that they didn't turn out and he had to re-do them. Again, he began with the bottom teeth, left and came back, and followed with the top. He left the room once more and returned shortly, with a very apologetic look on his face. By now I had the "pink goo" all over my face and even in my hair. I'm sure I was quite a site! (Keep in mind that one side of my face was numb, so I couldn't actually feel the "goo," but there was so much, I could see it out of the corner of my eye!) He stated that the bottom one turned out this time, but that he had to try the top one once more, and he apologized for making such a mess of me. He left the room again, this time coming back to tell me that it had finally worked. However, by this time, he was obviously a little distraught, and kept apologizing as he dampened a paper towel and began wiping off my face for me. As he finished and apologized once more, in an effort to help change the mood and put a smile on his face, I responded (and this is the punch line in case you're wondering), "Well, you definitely made an IMPRESSION."
Hope this made you smile!
