My daughter, Neely, is full of life with big blue eyes and her daddy’s humor. She laughs hysterically at anything related to flatulence, stands firm on all rules given and dissects life’s moments. As she grins ear to ear, a baby tooth dangles like a grape on a vine. My husband’s shivering response to my personal excitement as a dental hygienist is “that’s creepy, when will she lose that tooth?”
You could assume wiggling out my daughter’s baby teeth would be a smooth experience since dentistry is my day job. But not even close. Tears, fear, and coaxing took up most of this season as the tiny white shapes kept shedding.
In the world of dentistry, Neely’s tooth was simply overdue for removal, practically flapping in the wind. But my daughter was truly terrified. Each time I approached her with experienced dental hands she began to hyperventilate, shuddering with fear. She would wail “I want to get it out, but I’m so scared mom, like SO scared!” Most nights would turn into a session of coaxing her into a headlock only to end with a “forget it, we’ll do it later” outcome!
One night as we repeated the struggle, something larger and deeper began to unfold. Neely began to cry tears of fear and frustration as she ran to her room saying, “I asked God to just make it fall out, but it didn’t happen”! I found Neely tucked inside her rainy-day tent we had assembled earlier in the week. As I crouched beside her, I noticed the scriptures taped on the walls inside the tent for home décor. Pondering how to fix this scenario the words, ‘God is our protection, new strength and trust’ caught my attention’.
Psalms 46:1 on a jagged edged paper torn from her notebook stated “God is our protection and our strength. He always helps in times of trouble”, and Isaiah 40:31 was beautifully written with a blunted crayon, “But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.”
As I pointed to these God ordained words, I asked my daughter to read them aloud. Reluctantly, she mumbled each one to me. It hit me like an arrow to my heart; this moment was beyond “plucking the grape off the vine”. This was a teachable moment for my daughter’s faith in her heavenly Father. Neely insisted I did not understand her fear and did not have the problems she had. She repeatedly said “Mama, I don’t know how not to be scared, I’m just scared. But I do want this problem- this tooth, gone”!
Doesn’t that hit so close to home? Isn’t that such an honest and relatable statement for our own lives as adults? We want to follow God’s plan or perhaps jump into His timing, yet we are truly terrified of what that entails. My daughter had asked “can you promise me it will for sure come out when you pull without hurting?” We too, tend to ask this. Will the matter work out? Will I accomplish the task without turmoil and disappointment? These are thoughts we have wrestled with as adults. But my honest answer to Neely’s question, as well my own thoughts was simply no.
I could not promise Neely it would seamlessly glide out as I yanked, nor does God promise us a life with no heartache, no challenges, nor obstacles.
Our minds will be flooded with doubt and fear, but scripture replaces those with God’s truth. God’s promises lie within His truth- “those who trust in the Lord will find new strength and He will always help in times of trouble,” Isaiah 40:31.
Who will find strength? Those who believe.
What type of strength? New strength.
When will it surface? During trials.
As I attempted to break this scripture down for my daughter’s mind, it grasped my own. Our Father’s power will pour into us stirring new strength that overcomes all things when we believe.
I reflected on my own fears in life, the ones my daughter knew nothing about. But God reminded me not to simply read the décor on the walls, but to take them to heart and believe in His promises.
That moment of frustration stemming from a loose tooth and a stubborn child turned into a moment to deepen my daughter’s faith. Notice the big picture; we weren’t just pulling teeth that evening. And in case you were wondering, the tooth was not pulled that night, but that’s ok. I know God is patiently awaiting her trust and deepening mine.
Neely chose the song of the week. She loves this song and I just recently reminded her to truly listen to the lyrics and take them to heart as I hope you will too.
