Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful. John 14:27

I had put it off as long as I could. For the last year, my dentist had been watching a cavity under my crown get bigger. It was time to get tooth 15 fixed.

I sat there leaned back in the chair as the dentist explained how she was going to give me shots, make an impression, remove the crown, drill the old glue off, prepare the tooth, make a temporary crown, glue it back on and then chip the new glue off and drill the temporary crown until it fit properly.

Finally, sweetly she said, “I’m so sorry but there is going to be a lot of drilling and it is going to be really loud.” I chuckled, “It is okay. It could be worse. It sounds like a piece of cake compared to some of the stuff that I have been through.” With a surprised grin, she told me that she did not usually hear that from her patients.

No matter how hard life can be, the fact that I got out of bed this morning means things could be worse, much worse. If I look around, I can always see someone else who is worse off.  Like the saying goes, “I felt sorry for myself because I had no shoes, until I met a man who had no feet.” Right?

Now, after a few days, my gums are irritated and it feels like an 18-wheeler is parked under tooth 15. But, hey, it is only a tooth so I can do this. I think.

Dear Lord, Please help me to always look to You for peace. Knowing that no matter what I face in life, there is nothing that I cannot do as long as I have Your help. Amen