needles

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We Avoid What We Don’t Want To Face

There are things we avoid because we don’t like them. Sometimes we are reminded of why we don’t like them. 

we avoid what we don't want to face

There are certain things I try to avoid in life. Eating select vegetables and watching sappy movies immediately come to mind. 

Sometimes just saying no is enough. But there are times when you have to go out of your way to avoid what you don’t like. When confronted with an afternoon of shopping at an outlet mall for instance, you might have to fake a bad knee to get out of it. 

There are other times you can’t avoid the things you don’t like; you just have to face them. For instance, going to the dentist. It’s not on anyone’s favourites list, but you have to go at least once or twice a year.

One thing I’ve consistently avoided at the dentist is having freezing. It’s not like I have perfect teeth; in fact I have a mouth full of fillings. But there are two reasons why I avoid freezing. 

First, I don’t like needles. I go to great lengths to avoid getting a needle if I can. Second, I hate freezing for the way it makes my face feel. I have, therefore, avoided any freezing at the dentist. 

I can’t remember the last time I had freezing. Well, actually I can because I had freezing this week.

I had to have a back molar pulled. It had had a crown on it, but the root cracked. I finally agreed to get it taken out and get an implant put in. 

My dentist said right off the bat that he would need to freeze me for the extraction. I didn’t question him. I figured it would be rather painful.

So I got all frozen up. I mean the whole side of my face, from just below my eye, felt numb. Oh and my tongue – for hours it was a useless piece of flappy muscle. I really don’t like the feeling.

And freezing stays with you for a while. I had a dinner meeting that night and I was still frozen. The worst part of it was that I couldn’t tell if I had food on my face. I had to ask the guys I was with if my face had leftovers on it.

It’s not a good scenario when you’re talking away and people are staring at you. They are actually likely staring at the drool that has started out of the corner of your mouth and is making a slow descent down to the bottom of your chin. 

But when you’re frozen you have no clue! You merrily go about your business while they just stare at you. It’s like they’ve placed bets on how long it will take to drip off your chin. No one wants to tell you in case you wipe it away and then all bets are off.

Fortunately for me, I was not drooling uncontrollably and by midway through my meeting the freezing wore off.

I finally stopped sounding like Marlon Brando in the Godfather.

Here’s the thing: You can avoid dealing with the sin in your life. You can pretend that it’s no big deal. You can rationalize it. Or you can claim everyone else does it. But there will come a time when you have to face Jesus with it. You can’t get out of it. So it is far better to deal with your sin now and confess it before Him than it is to wait until He confronts you with it. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What thing do you really try to avoid? Leave your questions and comments below.

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Why You Should Sit Still For Needles

In my last post, I wrote about not being too keen on going to see the doctor. One of the reasons is they like to stick you with needles.

needle_phobia

Actually, the doctor doesn’t often give the needles; he gets a nurse to do it. That way the patient doesn’t have any animosity towards his doctor; it’s directed towards the nurse!

So not only does the nurse have to do all the dirty work, she also has to be the bad guy. I’m sure that’s why doctors go to school so long, so they have the upper hand on the nurses. It’s a good gig.

Anyway, I said in my last post that I’m not a real fan of needles. I’m not sure when this started, but If I can avoid them I do. It’s not that they hurt – sure, there’s the prick and maybe a little discomfort, especially if they are injecting a boat load of typhoid in you for going over seas, but it’s not bad.

My problem with needles has to do with the whole process: someone sticking something sharp in you while you are sitting still letting it happen. That’s not natural. … You squirm, you move, you fight back to protect yourself – THAT’S the proper response to any kind of personal invasion.

It also bugs me to see that pointy end go into a vein that’s been all pumped up (man, I’d make a terrible drug addict).

You put all those things together and that might be the reason I don’t like needles.

I don’t even like to get them when they can keep me from another kind of pain. For instance, I don’t get freezing when I go to the dentist. I’d rather face the drill on my own than get a needle.

Besides, I like walking out of the dentist’s office not being numb or feeling like my lips are three inches thick.

I don’t want to be that guy who’s unaware that he’s drooling out the left side of his mouth when being introduced to someone for the first time. I have enough problems with spilling food on my clothing, I don’t need a growing wet spot down the front of my shirt as well.

I once had a fifteen minute discussion with a nurse in a hospital emergency room in Regina, weighing the pros and cons of getting a tetanus shot. When I finally said yes and started to roll up my sleeve, she said, “Oh no, it’s going in your rear.”

Well it took me another five minutes to agree to that. I had visions of tensing up so much she would have to put her foot on my rear to yank the needle out!

… It wasn’t nearly as bad as I imagined it would be.

My latest adventure of having my blood tested last week brought back all my memories. The nurse wasn’t the best at giving needles, but she was quick and that’s maybe just as good.

Here’s the thing: Temptation is like getting a needle, where you purposely put yourself in a place of having a painful experience. If we don’t have an exit plan, or try to avoid being tempted in the first place, it’s like sitting down, keeping still and letting someone stick a needle in you. When temptation has its way with us, it leads to sin and, though maybe the pain of that sin is not felt immediately, there will be pain. I’d urge you to avoid that pain. Don’t sit and take it; have a plan when temptation comes.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What kind of a plan do you have for temptation? Leave a comment below.