Around the Corner
What’s Around the Corner
My Wednesday started off with a visit to the dentist. This time I was the one going for a cleaning.
No kids.
No distractions.
Just my feet up in the dental chair. I came away with a squeaky clean report. The hygienist actually said it was her easiest cleaning of the year. Thank you very much. A+
When the dentist, Dr Summer, came over I asked to show her a video of my 3 year old while he was sleeping. He has a habit of stopping breathing while he sleeps. It had gotten much better after his surgery, but returned. While I was rocking him one night I prayed he would repeat what he had be doing the other nights while recording. I turned on the camera and a few seconds later got video of his tongue clicking and then him stopping breathing for 10 seconds followed by a coughing spell. Poor buddy’s airway was being cut off by his tongue.
After Dr. Summer saw the video she wanted him to come in that day to get the measurements she needed for an appliance. We made the appointment and my afternoon was now spent picking him up early from pre-school and getting x-rays. I am so thankful for how pro-active her office is and that she wanted to get his treatment started immediately.
It just wasn’t my plan for the day.
He was the cutest little man standing on the platform with this head strapped in trying his 3 year old best to stay still. They weren’t able to get much information from the x-ray, but could tell that his tongue definitely was not resting in the correct place and that his very high palate was causing problems.
In 2 to 3 weeks his appliance will be in and we will start getting him to wear it at night. Hopefully it will help with his breathing and sleeping all night. I love the little guy but crawling into a toddler bed at midnight is not my favorite.
On the way home, I called my mom and told her about the day and his appointment. She made a comment that you never know what’s going to happen in the day. It’s so true.
Ruth
I’ve been working on my book proposal this past month and thinking a lot about the book of Ruth. The first chapter and actually the first paragraph of the book of Ruth might be my favorite in the whole Bible. At least right now.
In the days when the judges ruled there was a famine in the land. So a man together with his wife and two sons went to live for a while in the country of Moab. Ruth 1:1
That is the opening line.
We know the timeframe, when the judges ruled. It was a time of turmoil. The time of judges was marked by turmoil and a downturn for Israel.
We know there was famine. It’s not looking great for our story so far.
Then we are introduced to a family, a man, his wife and two sons. They decide to leave where they were living and move FOR A WHILE to Moab.
Their plan was to go find food in another country and live there for a while.
What does this all have to do with your dentist appointment?
This family doesn’t know what is around the next corner. Their plan is to leave and come back home when things get better. At this point in the story if you stop, you don’t know what is coming next.
They didn’t know what was around the next turn.
They didn’t know the heartbreak.
We can look back at their story and rejoice at God’s faithfulness and provision, but it also comes with a story of pain and loss.
When you are in the middle of your story and don’t know what is around the next corner you can remember that you are just like others in the Bible who have gone before you. In life we don’t know what the next day holds, but we can take comfort in the fully told stories that have gone before us.
I’m sure there will be more pain and more joy in the days ahead.
I don’t know what is around the next corner, but I can take comfort that God knows me and is with me in every part of my story, just like he never left the people we meet in the book of Ruth.
You are not alone, no matter what happens around the corner.
