I've always thought Easter is a little maligned by secular society. Christmas gets all the PR, but Easter is one of those 'fly by nights' - not a 'real holiday' at all. Then again, isn't that the primary response to the message of the cross?
This Easter, given my physical issues, I have been very very grateful for that message - the reminder that Christians, too, will be resurrected with Jesus. That if we died with him, we also will rise again with him. That these bodies are not final, that this is not all there is. It's a relief for me to think that, to carry that awareness of mortality, of a temporary existence.
On the health front, some answers, but not for the tooth.
The tingling appears related to diet - cutting out salicylates (tomatoes, onions, soy sauce, other strong-flavoured foods) has definitely helped, although having to live without the ibuprofen family of anti-inflammatories has made things more difficult since I've developed a swelling in the gum that doesn't appear to be going away.
A scan of my jaw found an abcess/chronic infection; it looks related to a tooth that had a root canal done on it fifteen years ago and hasn't given any trouble until now. The abcess might explain the swollen gum, but there's also doubts about that since the infection looks chronic - like it's been there for a while, just biding its time. My option is to get the root canal re-done, or to get it extracted. Each option has complication and issues related to it, and I need to pray for wisdom in my choices. But at least I have choices (given by a new dentist and endodontist, both of whom were a bit more helpful than my usual ones, who make me feel like I'm one in a production line).
At this point, my thought is to extract the tooth with the old root canal, clear out the infection underneath, and with that out of the way, start working out the gum swelling, the new root canal, and the physical issues that may very well be linked to the abcess. The old root canal needs to be fixed at some point; and with everything else going on, better to do it now and clear it out of the way.
What has this to do with Easter? Well, only in the sense that I spent this Easter very well aware that my body isn't working the way it should; the way I want it to. I ended up on antibiotics, and learned that I now have a limited number of 'spoons' to use in a day. I spent a lot of time trying not to fret over all the sensations in my body (and mostly failing), while cooking and preparing food that won't trigger intolerance symptoms.
And, perhaps surprisingly, giving thanks. Because I may not have perfect health anymore, but I have a sense of humour, and a house, and a family that loves me. I have a God who thought I was worth redeeming, even though I didn't naturally want to be redeemed. I have the hope of a new heaven and a new earth - of a new body that won't ever break down or fail or suffer food intolerances...
As lives go, that's pretty good. I have to learn to adjust, but, as my psychologist pointed out today, that's not a bad thing. Life is fluid, and we need to learn to live it in the now, not in the 'as it was'.
And this 'now' is not perfect, nor will ever be. So putting my faith in this rotting meatsack (thank you, Bender) is kind of pointless; it serves me well enough, so long as I'm serving the God who showed his love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Happy Easter!
No comments:
Post a Comment