Life lessons from a Dentist

This Thursday I'm heading up to Ashburn to do two painful things. Thursday, I have to drop Lance off at his dad's house for the weekend and Friday, I'm going to the dentist. I usually like going to the dentist, but this time it's different.

This past week, a couple days before Thanksgiving, I noticed one of my front teeth had a gray area. Worried it was a cavity, I rushed to make an appointment with a dentist to have a cleaning and get the area checked. I have never had cavities in my life and was hoping this wasn't one. The day before Thanksgiving I hurried to the dentist to have my cleaning. While I was there, they decided to do xrays to check all my teeth for cavities since I hadn't been to the dentist in more than two years.

When they put the xrays in front of me, I was floored. Not only did that one tooth with the gray area have a cavity, most of my molars had 2-3 each in the space between the teeth. They were small and couldn't be seen without an xray, but they were there. I had to fight away tears while I talked to the hygienist about what we could do and what needed to be done. I had so many cavities that I would have to get them filled in shifts, not only for my comfort but for insurance purposes as well. While we talked, we both came to the conclusion that one simple thing could have saved my teeth:

Flossing.

So, so simple. Something I had been told my whole life to do and yet I didn't do it. An extra 15 seconds each day could have saved me a lot of discomfort and a lot of money. Why, why didn't I listen? Why didn't I do the small, simple things to keep my teeth healthy?

Sunday we had a lesson in Relief Society about Pres. Uchtdorf's talk he gave during this past General Conference called, "Of Things That Matter Most". It's a fantastic talk and a good reminder for us of what is truly important.

"[O]ur relationship with God is most sacred and vital. We are His spirit children. He is our Father. He desires our happiness. As we seek Him, as we learn of His Son, Jesus Christ, as we open our hearts to the influence of the Holy Spirit, our lives become more stable and secure. We experience greater peace, joy, and fulfillment as we give our best to live according to God’s eternal plan and keep His commandments....

    UAdd a Note 

"To strengthen our relationship with God, we need some meaningful time alone with Him. Quietly focusing on daily personal prayer and scripture study, always aiming to be worthy of a current temple recommend—these will be some wise investments of our time and efforts to draw closer to our Heavenly Father. Let us heed the invitation in Psalms: “Be still, and know that I am God.”

I've been feeling a little distant from the Gospel lately. It's been harder to feel the Spirit, to have the desire to read my scriptures and say my prayers. This lesson and my experience at the dentist was a much-needed wake-up call.

I don't want spiritual cavities. We are told so often the little things we need to do to keep ourselves spiritually healthy--read our scriptures, say our prayers, go to Church, serve others. They seem so simple and so unimportant that we often overlook them when we get busy or when something else seems more important. Just like flossing can help clear out the bad bacteria that causes cavities, striving to stay close to Heavenly Father through scripture study and prayer can help us overcome those things that might take us away from the Spirit, whatever that may be for each individual.

Needless to say, I am now flossing.