I was at the dentist's this morning, and that's not a place people typically strike up new friendships, but I did exactly that. There was a really sweet older man in the waiting room and he was going to have his upper teeth removed to give him both a better healthy body as well as a prettier smile. He was scared because he hadn't been under the gas or had any numbing meds for several years. He admitted he hadn't been to the dentist in over 15 years. He was genuinely pretty nervous about the whole thing. I asked him if I could sit with him and we could just talk about what it was that scared him; maybe I could help. I thought maybe we could either pray together or just talk it out together and he'd feel better. I asked if he was a married man because he had his thin gold band on his left hand, but you could tell it hadn't come off that finger in several decades.
He answered he was in fact a married man. His sweet wife had departed and had decided to move into a new mansion up in Glory without him. He said they had agreed just before she left, that she would clean the place really good for him so he'd have a nice home to be welcomed in when the day came that he also decided to leave this world. She would be with him today, he added, but she's pretty busy. Yes, I suppose she is. I sat with him. He told me his name, and I told him mine. I listened as he spoke about all the little things that his wife would do for him that made life so much easier for him to bear when he was of working age and when he was expected to bring home the bacon, as he put it. She would keep the house, she would do the shopping, she would do the mending, the ironing, the washing, the cooking, the cleaning, and she mostly on her own, he admitted, raised their two sons. He was "Some lucky man" he said. I agreed with him.
The dental assistant came to the door to announce that he was next to go behind the closed doors. I think the fact that they were so closed off and set apart from the waiting area was one of his main concerns. It felt cold to him. I was a bit surprised a few minutes later when the dental assistant came back and asked me if I could be with the man while he had his procedure. I mean, I had an appointment that morning myself; I had no idea I was going to be asked to hold someone's hand. I smiled at the assistant and told her I would be honored to do so. She pushed my appointment back a bit, and I took a rolling stool next to my new friend. God is so perfect, isn't He? Not only did I meet one of the world's most luckiest men ever to walk the face of the Earth, but I was given a chance to serve him just like his own precious wife would have done had she not been so busy up in Heaven today.
After about an hour, because it takes a minute to get someone settled, numbed up, and then given the instructions on how to relax and breathe through the procedure; the deed was done. Since my dentist is the type that does the same day denture procedure my new buddy walked out of the office with his new upper plate in place and again, instructions on what to do when he goes home. HOME! OMG...I didn't think about that; who would watch over him there? Suddenly, I found myself in both wife mode as well as mother mode! I wanted to smother the man in genuine care and make sure his every breath was counted and placed in order. I wanted to fluff his pillows, mash his potatoes a bit more, and show him how to brush so it wouldn't hurt. "Relax, Jude" came the voice of my dentist, "He'll be fine, he goes to my church and lives at the assisted center. He'll have 24/7 care, and I've already called the driver to come give him a ride home in about 30 minutes when he's had time to recover a bit, and I think he wanted to say good bye to you as well. Do you mind?" Do I mind? I was again, honored that he would be so kind.
Just before I walked out into the waiting room to see my toothy-grinned friend, I said a prayer for him to be sure he would be OK and not have any trouble when he got back to the center. He held my hands and he kissed my cheek. He said he had a few grandkids but not one of them could take the time to come to the dentist to be with him. He supposed that kids these days are just too busy and they work or have too much on their plates to do more than what they do. I told him I had a phone and he could call it and reach me. When he goes back in for the lower plate I hope he'll put in that call. Just to be sure he's taken care of, I asked the dentist to call me too - - you know, just in case. If he's been the luckiest man this long there's no reason to end his winning streak.
We said good bye, and it was nice to meet you, and all that. Just one more thing he said, before he let me get on my way. He said if I ever do decide to marry again he hopes that man knows what all he's getting in the package. I asked him what he meant by that. He said "Oh, most women these days just let a man do for himself. They don't realize how scared and vulnerable we can be. Men are supposed to be big and strong, brave you know. Women are the one things we can't do without. Men need to know that." Wow. Then he added "There will be another lucky man if he can keep up with you!" I thanked him and I thought maybe there may be, but God will have to put His seal of approval on him first -- still, I felt a little smile beaming down on us from one of the luckiest ladies to ever walk the face of the Earth.
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