God vs. Braces

This is a post I've had in the back of my mind for quite some time.  I've had my braces off for over two years, but two of my siblings have had braces since then and I'm reminded of the whole process all over again.  So today I'm going to be making some observations of how braces remind me of God.

Now, before you think I'm completely off my rocker by comparing God to braces, let me make my case.  (After all, people use foods like eggs and apples to represent the Trinity, so you can't exactly get much further out than that...)

First of all, you don't realize how much you need braces until you're shown how badly you need them.  Before I had braces, my teeth didn't bother me—until I began to realize that a person's bottom teeth are supposed to be straight, not overlapping.  It made me feel conspicuous and almost afraid to smile.  But then when I finally did get braces, they straightened my teeth out and made them good as new.

In the same way, people are searching for something—or someone—to make their lives complete, whole, and worth something.  We don't realize just how desperate we are for fulfillment until we see someone with a smile and laughter, and we think, wow, I wish I had whatever they have.  We become insecure, and pretty much nothing can make us feel good about ourselves again.  Sure, a hug or a word of encouragement can give us a temporary pick-me-up, but nothing really satisfies our thirst for purpose until Christ enters our hearts.

The second thing about braces is the huge amount of trust.  You have to be ready to give up your teeth's current status and trust the orthodontist to know what they're doing in order to bring about the end result.  I don't know about you, but allowing someone to put their fingers in my mouth and poke around and cement little pieces of metal to my poor teeth.  It's actually a rather disturbing thought, when I put it that way.

It's like asking Christ to come in and do some housework in our hearts.  We're asking Him to come live inside us to do His work in our lives.  The thought really is unnerving, knowing that He'll see everything inside—both the good and the bad—and get to work.  In essence, we're saying, "I'm screwing up.  I'm obviously awful at running my own life, so even though it's a terrifying thought, I trust You and ask You to do what I can't."

What else is there?  Well, for me at least, the whole process is painful.  Not only are we trusting the orthodontist with our mouths, but we're allowing him to cause us some pain so that we achieve the desired result.  Am I the only one that rode home from the dentist with my head resting on my hand, not feeling like doing anything because my mouth hurt too bad?  It hurt, but I endured because I knew it would all be worth it.

When we ask Christ to live in our hearts, we're asking Him to take over and mold us into the children that God created us to be.  And, well, to put it simply, it hurts to give up everything.  It hurts to 'take up your cross' and follow Christ wherever He leads.  It hurts when those around you glare and shun because they don't like what you're doing.  But y'know what?  There's also a deep joy and satisfaction derived from knowing that you're doing your Creator's will and that someday, it will all be worth the effort when you hear the words, "Well done, good and faithful servant."

This walk with Christ isn't all flowers and rainbows.  Goodness gracious, I know that.  But keep your eyes on the things above.  Realize how much you need a Savior.  Trust.  Endure the pain, because He will sustain you, and in the end, it will all be worth it.