My tooth just fell out. And I’m thinking, “Should I be thankful for this?”
I was eating some gluten-free biscotti that one of our editors, Kate Norris, brought in and while I was chewing I felt something hard, wondering for a moment if the gluten-free flour had a rock in it. Then I realized, “Yikes, that’s a tooth.” I grabbed a napkin, pulled something out. Yep, a tooth with a big crown.
You can imagine all the things that went through my mind: Darn. What a pain. Now I’m going to have to spend all day at the dentist. I have so much work I want to get done. I didn’t want to do this today. Will I even get an appointment? How long am I going to have to wait in his waiting room…Last time I had an emergency, it was a good two hours.
Then I recalled something I’d been promising myself, following Paul’s injunction to “give thanks in all things.” Even in this? While looking for the dentist’s phone number, I tried it. At least this didn’t happen yesterday on the holiday when the dentist wouldn’t be in, I thought. I could give thanks for that. At least this didn’t happen tomorrow when I’m flying to Oklahoma City. That would be terrible: to be on a plane or in an unfamiliar city, looking for an emergency dental appointment.
The dentist’s assistant answered almost right away. She put me on a hold for a minute then returned, “Can you come by today at 11:30 or 11:45?” she asked. I glanced at my schedule. No meetings scheduled for then. I could be thankful for that. “Sure,” I said.
I wrapped up the tooth and put it in my pocket and thought of some of the other things I could be thankful for. A dentist who responds quickly to emergencies. My good fortune not to have swallowed the tooth. Understanding colleagues who would cover for me if I was going to miss some meeting. An insurance plan that covers dental work.
I wrote down some of this, as you can see. It’s always a good idea to write what you’re grateful for. It’s part of the prayer process of thanksgiving. Then looked at my watch. Time to head out. I’m posting this now. I expect to have a lot more items to be grateful for by the end of the day. And hope to have a smile that’s not missing a big tooth.
There is always a lot to be grateful for. Got any prayers of thanks yourself?
