Flossing my teeth has never been a strength of mine.
It was just one more thing tacked on to my day that felt “extra” and try as they may, Anthony (my sweet husband) and Kim (my precious dental hygienist) couldn’t convince me otherwise.
Until recently.
Several months ago I found myself in the dentist’s chair for a routine cleaning. Kim donned her rubber gloves and opened the box of sanitized tooth tools.
I opened wide and the torture began.
Her soft touch quickly turned into forceful scraping as she worked to loosen the various places where plaque had taken hold of my teeth.
Her kindness wasn’t lost in the moment, though, and in spite of my obvious disregard to her past flossing reminders, she gently spoke these words of truth to me again, “Flossing would help keep this plaque from building up, Kristen.”
Her eyes revealed the smile that her cloth face mask covered.
I left the dentist’s office that day a converted woman and picked up a bag of flosser picks on my way home.
A couple weeks ago, I was back in the dentist’s chair for another routine cleaning.
As Kim was putting on her plastic gloves, I couldn’t help but smile.
“I’ve been flossing,” I announced with enthusiasm. “You should be able to see the difference!”
As my chair reclined, I opened my mouth to support my claim.
“You have indeed,” Kim said with joy (and probably relief) as she saw the proof.
That cleaning was definitely a more pleasant experience than previous ones – in large part because of my daily diligence to floss.
Plaque buildup hasn’t just been an issue with my teeth, though.
It’s sometimes been an issue with my heart.
Every day, I am faced with my own human brokenness. Tests and trials are just part of living life in this fallen world and I haven’t always been the best at overcoming them.
Things as common as unforgiveness, resentment, and bitterness, when left unaddressed, can build up and cause layers of hardness on my heart.
The solution is always as simple as dealing with them in the moment.
I would like to say that I do. But, I haven’t always.
Yet, the Holy Spirit is always right there, ever present, with real-time Truth to resist these temptations and others helping to keep my heart plaque-free.
Choosing to grab hold of this Truth in the moment prevents the tarter of sin from taking hold on my heart (and potentially creating a need for a more painful deeper divine cleaning treatment in the future).
Getting to walk out of the dentist’s office a few weeks ago with a smile on my face and a “Great Patient” sticker in hand felt so good (it’s the little things in life, isn’t it?).
How much better to be able to hear my Father say, “Great job, my child!” as I yield to His loving voice daily that keeps my heart plaque-free!
Until next time, Grace and Glory!
