X

X is for X-Ray

I am not a big fan of the dentist –for a number of reasons, but mostly because I am a wimp and I don’t like pain.  I have a great dentist, and he is very aware of how much I do not like pain because I remind him.  Often.  He really does go out of his way to minimize any pain I might encounter while sitting in his chair, and I greatly appreciate that.  Once, he even offered to buy me a bottle of wine if I felt even the slightest bit of discomfort.  The hygienists, however, are not always so kind.  Sometimes just the process of getting my teeth cleaned can be a very uncomfortable experience.  Mostly, it is the sound made while she is scraping my teeth that drives me crazy.  I am also not a big fan of the whole x-ray process. 

I don’t mind the large lead apron that they cover you with to absorb the excess radiation while leaving your brain exposed.  But it’s the way that the film is situated in my mouth that I find uncomfortable – and sometimes even painful.  The contraption that the film is placed on is shaped oddly and placed precariously in my mouth.  The hygienist then asks me to hold my mouth slightly closed, keeping the device precisely placed while she leaves the room to go have a cup of coffee.  While she is gone, the apparatus inevitably slips into a painful position that I am resigned to hold until she returns only to tell me we have to do it all over again because I moved.  Yep.  I am not a big fan of dental x-rays.

And yet, I subject myself to them faithfully.  I have my teeth cleaned every 6 months and a complete round of x-rays every year.  I do this because I want to have a healthy mouth.  I want to catch problems early so that they can be resolved simply and with the least invasive procedure possible, should a problem be found.  Sometimes, I can feel pain in my mouth and I know I am going to need to have work done.  Other times, I cannot see the problems at all – but having an X-ray will point it out.  X-rays are a helpful tool used in dentistry, and the medical field to see what is going on inside, beneath the surface. Even in travel and air safety x-rays are common.  In fact, just last month I found myself holding still, raising my arms and sucking in my stomach while an airport screener x-rayed me.  Yes, there is no getting around the importance of checking out what lies beneath.  And just as physical x-rays are a vital part of our good health, regular spiritual x-rays are important too.

Reading the Bible daily, studying, memorizing and meditating on scripture is a good habit.  It informs us and can shed light on areas in our life that we can work on or improve.  It helps us to understand and know God.  It reveals His character and helps us have a more intimate relationship with Him.  Prayer too draws us into a deeper, more personal and more meaningful connection.  But there is step in the process of intimacy with God that is a bit more difficult and sometimes ignored.  It is when we ask God to look into our minds, our hearts, our souls, and search the places that we cannot see, the areas where we may not be informed, and ask Him to show us where we need His power, and His cleansing work.   It is when we, in essence, ask Him to x-ray us. 

In Psalm 19:12-13 it says “Who can discern his errors?  Forgive my hidden faults.  Keep your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me. Then will I be blameless, innocent of great transgression.”  When I read those verses this morning, I was reminded of the necessity of having God find and root out the things in my life of which I may not be aware.  Psalm 139:34 requests it this way, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.” And Psalm 51:6 puts it like this “Surely you desire truth in the inner parts; you teach me wisdom in the inmost place.”  We are called to ask God to search us, to look at our deepest places and deal with What He finds there.  And just like I am not a fan of dental x-rays, I am not huge fan of spiritual ones either.

Asking God to show me where I am failing, where I need to adjust an attitude, or change a habit, or be more loving towards someone I would rather avoid, is not an enjoyable process.  But, it needs to be done.  I need times, regular times, where I am still before God, quiet, patient, and willing to let Him do His work in me – all of me.  I need to be humble, fully surrendered, and ready to hear what He wants to show me.  Sometimes, it’s a good report, sometimes, I need to do something different - maybe even difficult, but either way, giving God permission and time to x-ray me is a vital and critical part of staying healthy and growing in my faith.