LIFE IN THE HIGHAM HOUSE
  • FAMILY HOME
    • MEET THE FAMILY >
      • About Jay
      • About Amy
    • About this Blog
    • Contact us
    • Link Tree
  • THE BLOG
    • Kids Talk
    • FAMILY >
      • FOR YOUR MARRIAGE >
        • Books We Love
      • FOR PARENTS
      • FOR THE KIDS
      • Christmas >
        • The Christmas Door Challenge
        • 12 Days Till Christmas 2015
        • Advent Time >
          • LEGO Friends Advent Calendar 2021
        • Vlogmas 2018
        • Vlogmas 2020
    • HOME >
      • HOME DECOR
      • DIY PROJECTS
      • GET ORGANIZED
    • KITCHEN
  • YOUTUBE
  • THE SHIRT SHOP
    • Life in the Higham House
    • In A Word
    • MORE THAN WORDS
    • SWEATHIRTS
    • Fall Tees
    • Halloween Tees
    • Thanksgiving Tees
    • Christmas
    • Easter Tees
    • Kids Tees
  • THE BOOK STORE
    • Christmas is the Best
    • Mommy, There's A Dragon in my Room!

Another Visit to the Dentist Teaches a Valuable Life Lesson

9/16/2014

0 Comments

 
Monday afternoon I found myself in most unfavorite place in the whole wide world, the dentist chair. I HATE going to the dentist. I do. It's one place that still scares me. The mere thought of the dentist office causes me to break out in a cold sweat. I can feel my heart rate increase. My anxiety levels rip through the roof. And the little kid who endured so many painful dental procedures comes out, kicking and screaming, fighting all the way to the chair.

But late Sunday night, early Monday morning, I woke up to unbelievable pain radiating from my tooth. I was up for hours. Nothing helped. There was no relief. Just pain. Lots of pain. And that meant it was time to go.

The last time I went to the dentist was under simular circumstances. Pain. Fear. Pain. Anxiety. Pain. the x-ray revealed the problem and the problem was removed. (With a lot of novicane mind you.) But it was also revealed that there was a little cavity starting in one of my other molars. I was told...a little filling and we can get that taken care of for you. (RIGHT. I've never had a dental procedure that required only a little filling...)

Anyway, (here comes the excuses) at the time we did not have dental insurance. And being the stubborn male with the last name of Higham, (the spiritual gift of being stubborn runs strong in my family) no pain meant no problem. So there was no follow up visit. what I didn't realize was, that visit was 2 years ago. Oops. But now the problem that only needed a little filling has blossomed to a full on root canal. Yeah, me!

As I was sitting in the chair, pondering why I was so fearful of the dentist and why I always wait till the pain is too much to bare, I began to think about how this is so much like how we live our lives. Because we fear the hurt and pain that we might possibly face, we wait and we wait and we wait until the problem is so big we can't avoid it any more.

Think about it. How many times have you found yourself in a situation that you need to take care of, but the fear and anxiety of not knowing what would happen left you putting off the issue.  I knew I had a cavity. And I knew I had to get it fixed. In fact, in getting it fixed, I would have avoided all further complications.  But the fear of pain in getting a "little filling" kept me from dealing with the problem. Crazy right? But that's what we do. We worry about the pain that we might deal with in the resolution process, and so we push it off. We ignore it, hide it, avoid it, even deny it, with the foolish hope that by doing all of those things the problem itself might just go away. But it doesn't. It just gets worse.

And as I found out, what might have been a few short minutes of pain has now become an hour and a half procedure that will definitely bring me significantly more pain. (Not to mention the pain that keeps me from sleep.)

As I think about all of this, I realize this is more than just a lesson in dental health, this is a lesson for life. While the work of correcting or dealing with a little problem might bring a little pain, it's nothing like the pain that comes from avoiding the issue. Don't allow fear to keep you from doing what is right.

I think it might be time to finally get over my fear of the dentist chair and begin doing the little things that are right and necessary.

Oh, by the way, the root canal will happen Monday, September 21st, at 3:45. I am already anticipating the anxiety and stress on that day to be through the roof. So say a prayer for me.

- jay

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Picture
    Thanks for taking the time to read The Higham Family Blog. Each week we try to share new content about something we are learning, something we love, or something to offer encouragement to the family. We love to hear from our readers, so please share your thought in the comment section of each post.

    Archives

    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013

    DISCLOSURE
Copyright
The content, pictures, and graphics, unless otherwise noted, are the sole property of LifeintheHighamHouse.com. You are free to use a graphic as long as it links back to the original post. You may not edit, crop, in anyway modify or change, remove watermarks or logos, without written permission from LifeintheHighamHouse.com.  Materials that are offered as free resources are made available for you to download for personal use only. Please see to the specific requirements of the individual item. 
DISCLOSURE
LifeintheHighamHouse.com
Copyright © 2013-2022
All rights Reserved.
  • FAMILY HOME
    • MEET THE FAMILY >
      • About Jay
      • About Amy
    • About this Blog
    • Contact us
    • Link Tree
  • THE BLOG
    • Kids Talk
    • FAMILY >
      • FOR YOUR MARRIAGE >
        • Books We Love
      • FOR PARENTS
      • FOR THE KIDS
      • Christmas >
        • The Christmas Door Challenge
        • 12 Days Till Christmas 2015
        • Advent Time >
          • LEGO Friends Advent Calendar 2021
        • Vlogmas 2018
        • Vlogmas 2020
    • HOME >
      • HOME DECOR
      • DIY PROJECTS
      • GET ORGANIZED
    • KITCHEN
  • YOUTUBE
  • THE SHIRT SHOP
    • Life in the Higham House
    • In A Word
    • MORE THAN WORDS
    • SWEATHIRTS
    • Fall Tees
    • Halloween Tees
    • Thanksgiving Tees
    • Christmas
    • Easter Tees
    • Kids Tees
  • THE BOOK STORE
    • Christmas is the Best
    • Mommy, There's A Dragon in my Room!