The Dentist

Every six months I receive a postcard in the mail from my dentist and I become full of dread. In fact, I ignored my last postcard on purpose -- it’s a fabulous stalling technique I’ve learned since I started maintaining my own schedule. However, my mom, being the productive and helpful person she is, scheduled an appointment for me.

It’s not that I hate the actual dentist. He’s quite nice. So are his dental hygienists, I guess the feeling of dislike stems from the feeling of failure I have after I leave the dentist chair. It’s always the same: “You have beautiful teeth Natalie!” They then ask about my dental routine, and I reply {quite proudly} that I typically brush my teeth at least three times a day. To which, they retaliate with: “Good! But,. . . ." and that’s where the guilt trip begins. “Let’s take a look at your X-rays. See this part here? {Pointing to the bone holding my teeth in place.} This bone will begin to deteriorate with inflammation of the gums, and inflammation of the gums is caused by . . . {you guessed it} . . . not flossing.”

In a dentist’s mind, not flossing equals inflammation of the gums, which causes bone loss, which causes tooth loss, which causes loss of self-esteem, which causes depression, which leads to suicide.

So I leave the dentist feeling like an epic failure at preventing this downward spiral ultimately resulting in my death . . . and that is why I dread going to the dentist.

Idol Worship

I have recently been convicted about how often I create idols out of ridiculous things.

Understand that I don’t bow down to statues, or set up shrines with hors d'oeuvres, but I do give up a good deal of my most precious commodity { time } in order to pursue the idols that I have made.
Here are a few of the ways in which I worship idols: I have mercilessly stalked every single actor from the comedy Friends, I have watched countless episodes of Say Yes to the Dress, I have spent hours reading historical romance novels, and worse: Facebook is one of my most wretched vices. I don’t tell you these things to make you laugh, or judge me, although I’m sure you did one of those things {probably the latter} but instead I write this because I am realizing more and more how much time I spend {and American culture in general spends} worshiping idols. We even have a television show that practically glorifies this truth.

Deuteronomy 4:15b-19, 35 says:

“Therefore watch yourselves very carefully, so that you do not become corrupt and make for yourselves an idol, an image of any shape, whether formed like a man or a woman, or like any animal on earth or any bird that flies in the air, or like any creature that moves along the ground or any fish in the waters below. And when you look up to the sky and see the sun, the moon and the stars—all the heavenly array—do not be enticed into bowing down to them and worshiping things the LORD your God has apportioned to all the nations under heaven. . .You were shown these things so that you might know that the LORD is God; besides him there is no other”

So I am challenging myself, and anybody else who can see this reflected in their own lives, to give God more time. Cutting facebook time, TV time, even some school work time, will more than double the time I set aside for God each day.

So. . . step #1 is: turning off this computer.