Christian Living

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People need to be very careful when using prescription pain medication. Though I realize certain conditions require ongoing medicinal management, narcotic pain killers are usually prescribed for short-term use. Handled correctly, there might be a time and place—and I was at that time and in that place during a recent dental crisis.

The tooth that ailed me was an eye tooth, and it was the root giving me a fit. I lost the visible part of the tooth years ago, and a “permanent” crown stood in its place. After a long stint of dormancy, the tooth began radiating a pain capable of penetrating the earth’s inner core. I told my husband, “If I was stupid enough to bite into an apple right now, you should probably just euthanize me.”

Well, the tooth settled down, but the memory of its tantrum sent me to my regular dentist who sent me to an endocrinologist who sent me to a periodontal surgeon. In between these visits, something ugly happened:

The so-called permanent crown popped off, revealing a gap as wide as the Grand Canyon. This was a problem. Being originally from Tennessee, I catch enough “hillbilly” flack as it is; the last thing I needed was this tooth missing from its prominent position in the oral cavity.

Though I Polygripped the crown on whenever I left the house, I kept it in a trinket box the rest of the time. Frankly, I was afraid it would go down with dinner before one of my three dentists could cement it back on.

I spent one weekend as a partial Toothless Wonder, amusing myself to no end by shocking my children. This was achieved by storing close-up pictures of my “new smile” in their cell phones, and by casually conversing with them as a strawberry licorice twist protruded from the gap.

In one way, the gap was appropriate. Recently, our family began playing “Garage Hockey”, a sport defined as playing hockey in the garage. Between my stick, puck and missing tooth, I felt worthy of the nickname “Mean Hockey Mama.”

Nonetheless, it was great to get my crown back and put this crisis behind me. Like solving most problems, it began by taking it to someone and getting to the root of the trouble. (In this case, literally.) Only then could healing begin. As for the pain medication, it merely offered short-term relief and had nothing to do with recovery.

Often, though, people rely on temporary pain killers in lieu of permanently fixing a problem. Maybe their quick fix is borrowing from Peter to pay Paul or jumping into a new relationship two minutes after the last one ended. Instead of ascertaining why they fight with co-workers, they opt to job hop, or maybe someone drowns themselves in activities rather than face the silence of a strained marriage. Others de-stress by indulging their vice of choice rather than handle the source of that stress. There’s an endless supply of things people do to avoid the root of their pain.

And just like a bad tooth, that pain keeps flaring up, eventually becoming a constant throb that pain killers can’t touch. At this late stage, they lose a tooth that could have been salvaged and are left with a gaping hole. Better to acknowledge our pain, deal with the issues and move towards the liberation of complete healing.

The Bible invites us to take every care to God, and to approach His throne with confidence. (Philippians 4:6, Hebrews 4:16). He might deal with us privately and His power is certainly sufficient. We shouldn’t be surprised, though, if He chooses to work through other Christians. His Word calls believers to “carry each other’s burdens”, “encourage one another and build each other up”, “be sympathetic, love like brothers, be compassionate and humble” and to “confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so you may be healed.” (Galatians 6:2, 1 Thessalonians 5:11, 1 Peter 3:8, James 5:16, NIV)

Support might come in a small group or a giant congregation, through one trusted friend or a worldwide Christian chat room. Healing might require professional help or boil down to an attitude adjustment. However and whatever, let’s be open to receiving the prayers, uplifting and Godly advice of brothers and sisters in Christ. They might very well be the vessels that guide and encourage us through the spiritual, emotional, physical, mental, financial, marital, parenting, job-related and other problems causing our hurt.

If we don’t own up to our pain, it will eventually own up to us, and stop responding to tricks that temporarily medicate. Let’s go to God and go from there, exchanging the slavery of short-term solutions for the freedom of deliverance.

Now, won’t that be something to smile about?!


©Donna G. Morton, February 2007

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