(Photo: Wikipedia; not really my teeth)

I had all four wisdom teeth pulled Thursday. I am not uncomfortable, and the swelling is finally going down. I spent several days looking like an overgrown chipmunk.

I asked the dentist what happened years ago, before people got their wisdom teeth pulled. He explained that maybe nothing happened to you, but there were a couple of horrific options if things went bad: they might have encroached upon and killed the molars (so you couldn’t chew stuff like steak), they might capture little bits of food and become terribly infected (in the days before antibiotics, this was really bad news), or they might eventually lead to cancer.

So, I’m thanking God that we live in a day when modern surgery can remove such risks. Not only can we thank God for the surgery itself, but for everything that accompanies it: drugs to knock me out, powerful pain killers, antibiotics to ward off infection. All are gifts from God.

Here’s the other thing that amazes me: this is the biggest trial I’ve experienced in a long time. Many people live with serious pain every day. Many people around the world face conditions such that their wisdom teeth are the least of their concerns. What grace-filled lives we lead, that we are even making decisions like this. So, this is provoking me to be grateful to God that I live with such an experience of prosperity, that serious adversity is so rare in my life. Psalm 16:5-6:

“The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot. The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.”

Categories: five15 blog