Skip to main content

Numb Gums



Just recently I had gum surgery. For those of you who have experienced any form of mouth discomfort, I am sure you have had the privilege of experiencing numb gums. It’s a strange thing to describe. Your lips feel huge, you can talk but you drool without knowing it, and when you try to eat or drink …well it doesn’t happen smoothly. The interesting part about numb gums, it’s wonderful that you can’t feel the incisions. But, the process of getting there hurts! Those with experience, I am sure you can confirm that shots in the gums is quite possibly the worst shot you have ever received.
It’s funny as I go through the process of moving to China. I feel like at times I can totally relate my gum surgery experience to this. In the beginning there was a lot of anxiety with making my decision and actually obeying and following dads call to China, just as I was anxious about surgery. Then came the time I had to tell my family members, co-workers, and friends that I was going to be moving out of the country. The time I have to work daily in building a support team and learn to have boldness from the father to ask others to help me get to China. And let me tell you…. it may hurt more emotionally than those stupid mouth shots!
 Now I am resting in that numb stage. I feel like I should be feeling more pain and nervousness and should be freaking out about the fact I need a ton more support and need to start thinking about packing because we leave in around 3 weeks….but I am numb. I feel like I should be excited to do dad’s will and be pumped about a new life following him and ready to be smiling and yelling it to the world…but I am numb. It’s a weird feeling. I take in the spiritual food yet it is hard to chew, I try to express or talk what I feel but I end up drooling over my words.
I have decided this is not a bad place to be. I think Dad takes times that may be painful and helps relieve it at first so it is possible to withstand. However, soon that anesthesia wears off and reality hits. I am not totally sure when reality is going to sink in, but today was the first feeling of that numbness fading.
The encouraging thing about this odd relationship between gums and China is that at the end my gums healed and now are better than before. Knowing this, you and I can take comfort knowing that through those seemingly painful situations and recoveries Dad works out a better plan for our lives and healing even in the most craziest of times.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

English Corner

Picture 3 Americans in a sea of Chinese students. That is English Corner. We use this time to help students practice English but also to build relationships and deeper conversations with them. The past few weeks have been somewhat over-whelming because of the large group of people that are coming to "see the foreigners" but tonight was so much fun! About 6 of my students, one of Jeremy's students and 2 like-minded girls were in my group tonight. We had great conversations about their families, beliefs, and what they wanted to do after graduation. Then at the end they offered to show me their dorm rooms. After telling them I would love to....they literally jumped to grab my hands and arms and all 9 giggling girls walked me across campus! I love Chinese culture when it comes to friendship. They all held my hands and wrapped their arms around me....so excited that I would come to their room. It was humbling to see their small closets, mosquito nets covering their beds, and t...
1 comment
Read more

Dancing in the park

Last night was a lot of fun! We had mexican....it wasn't Los Bravos, but it was a nice break from garlic! :) We walked home from dinner and what happened from there was a blast. In America after dinner, for the most part, we sit on the couch and watch TV. In China, TOTALLY different. The evening is where it all takes place. Everyone is out and about. Walking through the parks,talking and playing games on the street corners. The street food is grilling and the air is full of laughter, horns, and music! I love it here at night! The sense of community is something westerners should be envious of! As we walked home we passed many parks. In the parks are walkers, people doing Tai-chi, and women dancing!We normally walk by taking pictures, but as we walked by the last park we could not help but hear,"HOOP there it is"!!! We stopped dead in our tracks, gave our bags to the husbands and ran to join all the women in their evening exercise! This was SO much fun! Of course we look...
2 comments
Read more

Great wall!

All your life you have these things you would like to do sometime, always knowing that there is a good chance that you may never do them. These 3 weeks in Beijing, I have been able to check off so many of those "bucket list items". Did you know that the Great wall is huge? Did you know that it is not flat? For some reason I had pictured a wall being flat, call me crazy but I was not expecting the best cardio work-out of my life to happen on the great wall of China! It was SO amazing to be there, to think about the history, the amount of people and time it took to build, and to be able to witness the Father's creation at its best! To get up to the wall you had several options, you could take a chair lift or walk. Jeremy said his mom had walked up, therefore my competitive side made me walk. It was hard, but I was okay with knowing I would be done once I got to the wall....all this to say my legs were sore the next day and when given the choice to walk or ride down...I ...
Post a Comment
Read more