Six-Month Check Ups

While I was at my 6-month dentist appointment yesterday, I experienced several new things. Dentist Thomas and Hygienist Kimberly were new to me (that's what you get when you go to a group practice) and Hygienist Kimberly used two new procedures - a new plaque attacking drillish instrument and a new brushing efficiency detector.

The brushing detector experience went like this: Kimberly showed up with a q-tip filled with some dentistry concoction on it and proceeded to swab my teeth and gums. She said it would turn pink on some plaque and purple on other plaque (it had to do with how long the plaque had been there, but being bewildered by the whole process, I forgot which was which). She then handed me a hand mirror and told me to look. My mouth looked like I had consumed a gallon of double-strength Kool-Aid followed by several boxes of frozen popsicles. All I could think was, "I am going to see Rebekah in two hours - is this display going to wear off by then?" Kimberly went on to say that I was obviously brushing well (obvious to her, anyway) but I needed to perfect my flossing technique a bit.

All of this led me to think how cool it would be if we could go for a 6-month human test. God would put his special concoction over us, give us a mirror, and we'd go over the results together.

"Well, Luanne, you're doing quite well in the thoughtfulness department. I can see you've touched on the sharing area, but you could probably spend a little more time there. It looks like you might have neglected the friend area, but you can fix that with a little more concentration. Overall, you're doing a good job. Just keep at it, and we'll give you a checkup and cleaning again in six months."

Unfortunately, I would probably do the same thing for that check up that I do for my dentistry one. Sometimes I take it easy for a few months, then furiously brush and floss the weeks before my appointment. While it may work for my date with Kimberly, it doesn't work for being who God wants me to be.

But I will keep Kimberly and her special swab in mind. I'll think of that mirror as I look at what I'm doing in life. I'll look for the areas that need a little more attention and be proud of those areas that deserve it. I'll keep at it regularly, until that day I'll hear, "Well done, my good and faithful servant."