The Braces of Life
By Tracy Smith
“No discipline seems pleasant at the
time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness
and peace for those who have been trained by it.”
Hebrews 12:11 (NIV)
Four
years ago, as I sat in the waiting room while my son had "round two"
of braces put on, it occurred to me that there are lessons we can learn from
braces and their purpose.
My
son's mouth was extremely small. The first round of braces included an
appliance on the roof of his mouth that widened his palette. As I had the same
appliance 26 years ago, I know how painful this is. Despite the pain, it is
necessary as his teeth were coming in too high and sideways because they had
nowhere else to go. The appliance widened the mouth and made room for the
adult teeth already there, and the adult teeth yet to come. The pain was
necessary for all of his teeth to fit comfortably in his mouth.
Sometimes
God's lessons can feel this way: painful, but necessary in order for Him to
widen our lives to fit in all that He feels is necessary.
After
a period of no braces - - while we waited for all of his adult teeth to make
their way down - - it is now time for braces again. When looking at my son, his
teeth looked fine to me. They were all in, they all fit and they were straight;
however, the orthodontist explained why his bite needed to be fixed and the
teeth shifted into their correct position. All of this will avoid problems in
the future.
Again,
how much like our Lord! His correction can be painful and seem unnecessary
to us, but God knows why we need it. He knows the painful correction is
necessary in order for us to avoid problems later in life.
The
next time I feel the “braces of life” irritating me, I will remember why they
are there and look for the lesson the Lord wants me to learn.
GOING
DEEPER
1.
What painful times of your life can you look back now and see how God was using
that experience to help you avoid future pain?
2.
What can you do to learn these lessons faster and make them less painful?
FURTHER
READING
Along
with being a wife and mother to two teenage sons, Tracy is a ministry assistant
at Oakwood and works with a great group of Junior High girls.
