My daughter recently had her wisdom teeth removed and it occurred to me how much our lives are much like that.  Think about it.  Having your wisdom teeth removed is painful but it is for the better of the health of the rest of your teeth.  It leaves more room in your mouth for your teeth to grow the way they are supposed to grow.

In our lives we have things that need to be removed.  Pride, greed, selfishness, hatred…..Sin.  When we realize that these are a part of our lives we know we need to make a change, but that change can be difficult and quite often painful.  But it is always for the better.  And when we remove these obstacles in our life it leaves more room for the good things to grow.  The fruits of the Spirit – charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, humility.

The pain and suffering of oral surgery will gradually go away, and your other teeth will expand and fill in the gaps left by their removal.  The challenge of removing sin from our lives can be hard and painful, but once removed, with the help of God’s grace, it leaves more room in us for the gifts He has given us.  This will leave us with an indescribable joy and peace that can only come from Him.

To have our wisdom teeth removed we go to a dentist who performs oral surgery.  To have sin removed we go to God through the Sacrament of Reconciliation.  Just as we are hesitant and scared about making that appointment with the dentist, it can be frightening to go to Penance, especially if you haven’t gone for a while.  But when it is all over with you will be glad you did. 

During this Lenten season is the perfect time to go to our Lord, in confession, and rid ourselves of all that is keeping us from growing closer to Him and His heavenly kingdom He has prepared for us.  The dentist may leave you with a beautiful smile, but God will leave you with a soul that shines His goodness and glory!

Praying for you a continued blessed Lenten season!