Today I will have a tooth extracted.  Doesn’t that sound exciting?  I have never been through an extraction before.  It is something that is necessary and will make me feel better when it is over and still, I am not looking forward to this event.  It is strange that although I know there will be pain involved and my eating will change for a while, and although it is a new, an from all other people’s accounts, not pleasant, I am not very nervous.  I did not think about it last night and slept very well.  Obviously, I am thinking about it now, but not so much with apprehension as with anticipation: let’s get this over with.  Why is that?  I should and could be very nervous.  I know the answer and maybe you do too!  God is with me through this whole process and I have nothing to fear.  Even the pain and discomfort that is to come will be gone and life will go on… with God at my side.  Yours too!  God has promised to carry us through the ups and downs, the pains and changes of life.  And when the  last big change comes, God promises to carry through that one too.  So, tooth pulling,  a move, new job, new friends, surgery, death…. God is with you and will help to calm your fears and hold you through whatever you might fear.  Lean on God today.  God is there to be leaned on.  Read Proverbs 3:5-6 and remember: God loves YOU unconditionally.

Pastor Ed