the princess and the pea

so last week was a little crazy. i began the week not knowing what was going to be fixed first, my jaw or my car. it did start well (the week that is). i was coming off that groovy weekend massage workshop. still riding the wave from the whole thing. and knew i was meeting with a lady from the church, which held the possibility of financial relief and help with costs of dentist (due to no dental insurance) and car repair.

indeed the church did help me financially (rock on BBC for being there like a church is supposed to be - and rock on God for equipping them to do so) and i was breathing a little easier. still a little uneasy because i know how quickly dentist and car can become super expensive, and i just didn't know if i'd have enough to cover both, though both jaw and car needed fixing.

so i get to the dentist thursday, turns out he believes my TMJ dysfunction (jaw joint stuff) caused the swelling in my jaw and the wisdom tooth was probably aggravating it. he fits me for a new bite guard, since i broke the last one by clenching my teeth in my sleep (yeah, bit the back of it off for the second time over a month ago - you 'd think i was stressed or something, imagine that) said the tooth was just a "baby" wisdom tooth, not even a 1/3 of the size of a regular tooth, and he could "pop it out in about 2 minutes" if i wanted him to and recovery should be just the rest of the day. oh yeah, i was all for it! and true to his word, 2 minutes, literally. even groovier, he agreed to barter with me for the dental care (trade massages for dental work) so that meant i could get my car fixed! oh yeah! and get this, my car needed more work done than i thought (could have been serious if the fantastic guys at Tires Plus hadn't caught it) and the total came to exactly what the church had given me! God was sooooo ahead of me. had it covered. and i worried. yeesh, such wasted energy. thanks, Daddy. You are amazing!

i gotta tell you about the "baby" wisdom tooth - the thing is sooooo tiny! you can't even imagine a thing that small could cause so much discomfort! you see it and you just wanna say, "awwww, how cute!" never knowing it's true capacity for meanness ;) yeah, thursday afternoon i was snoozing in between ice packs and Aleve, but was even able to eat regular food that night! yummy Mexican with Heather at La Hacienda, even (yeah, i know that's not on my Advocare plan, i think i'm allowed an extra cheat day for wisdom tooth pulling...). and have just felt things loosening since then, in my jaw, head, neck, shoulders, etc. it's like the muscles just want to let go.

now as a massage therapist, i know everything in the body is connected, but there's nothing like personal experience to make it real for you! man, i'm tellin ya, i TOTALLY have a new grasp of The Princess and the Pea story we all read as kids. that one tiny thing, just making her toss and turn, something she couldn't quite put her finger on, making her uncomfortable, keeping her from sleeping. it's like not only has God been doing that with me spiritually - picking out the little things that keep me from resting in Him, bringing order to different areas of my life, making His words alive for me, connecting my heart with my head - now He's even doing it physically, taking care of my body, too! how awesome is that?! how often i've said recently that "it's the only body you get, gotta take care of it" and now God's totally providing opportunities for me to do that. was even able to give those muscles that have been 'screamin' wanting to let go a little help today. had an open hour (no client) and another therapist that owed me a massage, so i totally collected =) God is so good.

so as i'm half in la la land and half drooling, he's asking me what's been going on (he's a believer) because he noticed a change in me several weeks ago.
me: "really? a visible change?"
him: "yeah, i walked in one day and saw you and was like 'she's been reading the Word again or talking to God or something.'"
me: "cool."
very cool. the physical lifting off unburdening God opening me up like the dragon in Dragonheart opening his chest and light spilling out that i've been feeling is showing on my face. visible to others. i remember seeing that in people before and thinking, "man, i want that! how do you get it?" wow. *contented sigh* oh so very cool.


God answers sharp and sudden on some prayers,
And thrusts the thing we have prayed for in our face,
A Gauntlet with a gift in it.
~Elizabeth Barrett Browning