NPR and a Root Canal

Never thought you'd see those two gems paired together now did ya.   Now don't get me wrong, I have nothing against NPR, all newsy and such.  But there's a time and place.  Lying in the dentist chair with your mouth held open by prying old hands holding deadly weapons is not the time, nor the place.

The unfortunate series of events that led to my needing a root canal is an entirely different saga, which I've had to tell umpteen times and will not be telling here. The fact is, I had to get a root canal on Monday. And it was supposed to be JUST a consultation, until crafty ol' endodontist whom I still do not know his name, decided a root canal was in immediate need.  Fine, whatever, just get it over with.

After several canons of novocaine get blasted into my gums, I'm feeling just fine, minus the open flame next to my head. Maybe the blow torch should have given me a clue I was to be tortured.   I think the worst is over when out of the up until now silent tiny speaker above my head screams "and then I got menopause and started sweating..."  Excuse me?  Who said that?  Ol' crafty says "NPR, never know what you're going to hear."

For the next hour and a half I heard, above the roar of the drill, about radium pellets being shoved up someone's nose to fix headaches and three old guys laughing about the name Virginia Slim.

Survival finally comes into view and I begin to tune back into the conversation happening between Ol' Crafty and his hygienist.  "I can't believe we are required to go to this thing. I mean its on a Saturday..." Ol' crafty wraps ups his work and hygienist takes all the nonsense out of my mouth. "I mean it's from 8-5 and nothing but lectures."

I sit up all woozy like and say "I'd rather have a root canal."

Cookie Doh!

Just burnt the cookies again!  Forget this baking process, next batch I'm just eating the cookie dough.  

I often wonder why we try and try to make things better when we should just stick with the way they were originally.  I mean isn't cookie dough just as delicious, if not more than the finished product?  And if we do decide to try and make things better, why do we rush, why do we get side tracked and forget about the path we set out on? Things end up burnt.

God is no different. He loves us in our original raw, doughy form.  And as we veer from that, and he needs to bake us, doesn't he take his time?

The ingredients must be precisely measured, the oven must be the exact temperature, and timing must be perfect. Just like a baker and his dough, God has created in me a life that is simply not done baking.

I welcome you to join me in my journey to hear the "ding" of the oven and see how God can bake the "perfect cookie."