Oh what a day it was today! I was called out of Sunday school by Nici Comer because Rivers had fallen and her mouth was bleeding. She was unsure of the details, and of course we hurried down. I immediately started to feel numb as we were walking because I knew it had to be her teeth. Rivers was calmly sitting on a bench beside Mr. James, her Sunday school teacher. The bleeding had pretty well stopped, but when I looked in her mouth to assess the damage, there was her tiny little bicuspid tooth, root and all, dangling by a piece of gum tissue. Bless her heart! Pulling her upper lip up, the little front tooth that Dr. Nieders JUST fixed was forward at a 45 degree angle and the bone above it had shifted with the tooth! I was calm on the outside, but inside my heart just broke for her. I ran up to get Daniel because I needed his support and I was too weak to pull that little dangling bicuspid tooth. He came, and we said we needed to get that tooth out. Mr. James went to get Dr. Jean Smith to come and look at Rivers, but Rivers didn't want him to pull her tooth, so SHE REACHED UP AND PULLED IT HERSELF! Are you kidding? I couldn't believe it! Dr. Smith did come and take a look, and he pushed the bone back into place. She yelled out, of course, and then was ready to sing in children's choir. I was so blessed by her little spirit of perseverance and her heart to sing for the Lord! Don't get me wrong, later, I took a nap and helped sleep off the distress I felt after seeing her that way. Just before going to sleep, I grabbed a little devotion book that was given to me when I was on bed rest with Rivers. I turned to "God Is in the Details" from the book Inspiring Words from the Psalms for Women. Psalm 9:1-2 says: "I will thank you, Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all the marvelous things you have done. I will be filled with joy because of you. I will sing praises to your name, O Most High." My eyes welled up with tears because that is what the preschool choir sang yesterday morning. "I will praise you with all of my heart. With my voice, with my song, I will praise you all day long. I will praise you with all of my heart." A small portion of the story accompanying the scripture said,"Isn't it marvelous? Just when you need Him most, God surrounds you with reminders of His presence...He is evident in a tear...and in the missing front teeth of a five-year-old..." Are you kidding?! God, are you talking to me, or what? Praise God for the ways in which He shows us that He is always there taking care of us and drawing us to Himself!After naps, we were pulling out of the drive to go to AWANA, and Rivers started to cry in pain. Looking at her tooth again, I realized that it just couldn't be saved at the awkward angle it was at, so I called Dr. Nieders. Rivers and I met him at his office. She straddled my lap and lay down backwards into his so that I could hold her hands while he numbed her and got the tooth out. It was a ROUGH experience, but Dr. Nieders was so patient, understanding, and gentle. Two teeth later, we were ready for the tooth fairy to make a very special trip!
That night, we placed Rivers tooth under the pillow at the foot of her bed, but later, Daniel had to go back in because Rivers didn't want the tooth fairy to come in her room. She even made him check the window to make sure it was locked. Needless to say, our little fairy friend visited and left $2 for her two sweet little teeth along with a little note of encouragement.
