"And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes;
and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow,
nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain:
for the former things are passed away."
- Revelation 21:4

I'll never forget that day.

As a 22 year old young man I had found a job with a wonderful company and for the first time in my life I had dental insurance.  My teeth were in terrible shape, so one of the first things I did was make an appointment with an area dentist.

The initial visit went great.  The dentist was very friendly and shared a step by step plan with me on how we could correct the problems that I had.  A follow up visit was schedule for a couple of weeks later.  I was to have a root canal.

Now, I'll be real honest here.  I didn't really know what a root canal was.  But, I figured if it was going to relieve my pain and improve my smile...

...I was up to it!

I arrived there that day and saw what appeared to be some kind of SWAT team in the room where I was headed.  They had masks on and were armed with all sorts of evil looking devices.

Suddenly, my tooth wasn't  hurting all that bad.  I could live with the pain.  And as for my smile, well I'd just have to work on that.

But, it was too late.  They saw me and sprang at me like a tiger pouncing on innocent prey.

Soon my mouth was opened so wide that you could have dropped a refrigerator in there with room to spare.  The most sickening taste filled my mouth and a putrid smell entered my nostrils.  The shots and gas that they gave me to numb the area didn't seem to be doing their jobs very well.  It hurt and it was uncomfortable.

For over 45 minutes I sat in that chair with my mouth open, fighting back the urge to swallow, praying for the rapture to come.

I looked up from where I lay in that chair and caught the dentist's eye.  He smiled a sympathetic smile, with a slight look of pain in his eyes as if he knew firsthand what I was going through. He  said something like, "I know it hurts, son.  But, you're almost through it."

I don't know that I was ever so glad to get through an ordeal.  Thank the Lord, it was finally over!

You know, sometimes my life kind of reminds me of that day in the dentist's chair.  There are things that come along that I just don't like going through and they cause me a great deal of pain and discomfort.  Things like high blood pressure and heart problems.  Things like rude people, difficult tasks and rebellious teenagers.  Things like seeing friends and family members suffer will illness, days when everything goes wrong and financial struggles.  I don't like things like flat tires, headaches, lies, gossip, and relationship problems.

Know what I'm talking about?  I just don't like difficult times, hardships and struggles.

Want to know how I handle them?  When the world gets to spinning too fast and problems seem out of control...

...I look up from where I am, and I catch the Father's eye.  And He smiles a sympathetic smile, with a slight look of pain as if He knows exactly what I am going through.  

My heart hears Him say, "I know it hurts, son.  But, you're almost through it."

There is coming a day, my Christian friend, when the Lord will wipe away all the tears.  There will be no more pain, nor sorrow, nor crying.  There is coming a day when the problems and struggles of the present world are going to pass away.

Until them, when you find yourself facing a difficult time in your life...

 ...look up.  And see the Father.  And know that He cares and will see you through it.
  
Have a "Wonderful DAY in Christ,"
Jimmy D. Brown
\o/ Praise Jesus!