Million-Dollar Smiles

I ran into a dentist friend today.  He retires in two weeks.  Seeing him took me down Memory Lane.  I “parked” there awhile, remembering one of the “million-dollar smiles” he helped bring about.

She was a teenager who had been living in the woods with her boyfriend.  For years.  She had taken so many drugs, her teeth — all of them — had literally melted in her mouth.

She came to Your place, Lord — Samaritan’s Touch Care Center.  The Christian medical facility You raised up out of nothing in our poor county.  Tens of millions of dollars of donated primary and specialized medical care, provided free-of-charge to uninsured, financially-disadvantaged families.

Millions of moments when Your Extravagant Love and Provision converged in unmistakable ways.  Healing bodies, minds, souls and spirits… drawing many people, irresistibly and forever, to You.

She came seeking our help… and got so much more.  Because that’s where she found You, Lord.  I will never forget my first meeting with her.  She’d been under our care for eight months.

The boyfriend was gone.  She was living in a real home… drug free.  And she had the most beautiful smile!  She flashed it everywhere she went.  Because the smile inside her would not be denied.  And her new teeth gave that smile expression. 

This dentist was the first one You sent, Lord.  Samaritan’s Touch had not yet opened.  I was given his name by a total stranger hundreds of miles away.  Yes… The Master of the Universe is the Master of Networking, too!   🙂

I called this dentist to schedule a meeting.  His “gatekeeper” tried to lock me out.  She said, “No dentists here will ever help you.”  She didn’t know Your favorite Reality show is “Mission Impossible.”

“… with God all things are possible.”  (Matthew 19:26)

I got on his calendar.  I wrote him a one-page letter, mostly about what You were up to, Lord.  I had no idea if he knew You.  I just wrote the words You gave me to say.

Suddenly, he was helping to mobilize the entire Dental Society in our county…  most of whom jumped in with both feet!  That was nine years ago, Lord.  We have all lost count of the million-dollar smiles You have used these servants to create!

Retiring?  Not quite.  He’s going to keep volunteering at Samaritan’s Touch one day a week.  Of course he is!   🙂

I gave him a big hug.  “You are such a love!”  He blushed and answered, “I don’t know about that…”  He has his own million-dollar smile.  A smile that says, in his quiet and shy way, he is no one special.

But he is… isn’t he, Lord?  One-of-a-kind special.  Another ordinary man made extraordinaryby You and for You.

“Truly I tell you, whatever you [do] for the least of these brothers of Mine, you [do] for Me.”  (Matthew 25:40)

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord… It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”  (Colossians 3:23-24)

All smiles today,

Abba’s Girl

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