Friday, and it's a new day. Well of course, it's a new day, but for me a new day in more ways than one. I have really been struggling with a lot of things lately and wondering why everything has gotten so hard. In actuality nothing has gotten any harder, I had just given stopped having the faith that things would and could work out. This probably grew out of my having several crisis to deal with at once.

First, my ongoing dental crisis. I had a three tooth bridge put in about five years ago. At the time this dental work was done, I was not happy with it but instead of pursuing having the dentist correct the problem right then and there, I let it go, thinking I would deal with when I had to. Well here I am, five years later and 3500 miles away having to deal with it. This bridge that I paid over $2600 for never did fit right and so a piece broke off from one of the teeth right away, like within six months, then about eighteen months ago in fell out. My dentist at the time, cemented it back in and didn't say much. Somewhere in the first month here on St. Croix, it fell out again. I found a dentist to cement it back in again, which he did without saying much. That lasted about three months and I was back in the chair with the bridge in my hand. Now the dentist tells me that he can cement it back in but it won't last, because the front tooth under the bridge has broken off and it won't hold. So with that in mind, I paid him to cement it back in, in the hopes that it would last until after the first of the year and I could figure something out. Well this time it lasted about two weeks. I called the dentist back to find out my options and he wouldn't talk to me over the phone but said I had to come in for a consultation and x-rays. Went back paid him $50 for the consultation and $30 for two x-rays (they wanted to do a full mouth, but I told them let's just start with the area in question) to find out that I need a new bridge to the tune of $3600, plus I need the front tooth (in this bridge) pulled and a temporary crown made for the back tooth for the sum of $600, so this little dental crisis is scheduled to cost me around $4200 before it's over.

I made an appointment for the extraction and temporary crown and left the dentists office wondering how in the world I was going to come up with $600 for this first part of the ordeal. Spent two sleepless nights and twice as many days in gastro distress, when I realized that there was absolutely nothing I could do but worry and make myself sick, so I started praying. That was when I remembered something in the scriptures about Jesus saying that we should lay our burdens at his feet and he would make them light. I decided that this is what I needed to do, so I gave this burden over to Him. I did make several attempts to pick it up again, but I kept reminding myself to have more faith and LET IT GO. When we got paid, last week, I went through the budget and low and behold there was the $600 to pay for this. Now my first thought was of all the other things that I would rather spend that $600 on and then after having a little talk with myself, I was simply grateful that a way had been provided.

Yesterday was the appointed day and I had the deed done and paid in cash. Can't say that having a tooth pulled and a titanium post put in another one was a whole bunch of fun but it's over. I did get to eat ice cream and lay around and watch movies for the rest of the day without any guilt. That's gotta be worth something. I have to go back to the dentist on the 29th to see that everything is healing up nicely and then I can go to Idaho and relax. I will have to face the new bridge and the $3600 price tag when I come back, but somehow I know there will be a way.

Second, our ongoing vehicle crisis. Three weeks and three days ago we had to put new front tires on the "island car". That cost $200 that we had to rob "from Peter", but the really bad news was that when they went to do the alignment they found that the front end needed some work done, to the tune of $800. Rick decided and I agreed with him that we weren't going to put $800 into the little "island car" that we paid $2500 for, so we mereily drove off thinking well we'll probably lose some time off these tires but we'll face that bridge when we come to it. Well three weeks and three days later, there we were at the bridge abutment finding out that it had been washed away in our reoccurring deluge of car troubles. We took the car to someone we trusted (we didn't go to him for the new tires because he didn't have any to fit our car) for a second opinion and yes we need the front end work done, he was a little cheaper, he could do it for $750, but keep in mind that now we also need new tires again. We don't have much choice, so we charged the $400 they wanted to order the parts and are hoping they come in (ETA, Tuesday 11/23) before both tires go(well last evening one went, so now we have the "bicycle tire spare" on the car and are afraid to go anywhere, in fear that the other tire will blow out and we will be without a spare). Are you laughing yet? You should be, because somehow it seems that this can only happen to Rick and I. Today,, now that all the novacaine has finally left my brain and I'm thinking, I realize that this is another crisis that I can't handle, gotta lay it down and let someone else take over.

This started me thinking about all the things that I can't get done over the next four or five days because we really can't drive the car. In a effort to be a glass half full kind of person I turned that around and started thinking of all the things I could get done at home with no excuses to having to go somewhere. Things that I wanted to have done before I leave for Idaho, this is the way they can all get done with no guilt over thinking I should be somewhere else doing something else. Kind of like that eating ice cream all day thing because I had a tooth pulled. Anyway, maybe it won't be so bad. Rick has been able to arrange to get to work, so we'll still get paid and I do believe that somehow we'll be able to get where really need to be. See I'm getting better and better at this "laying my burdens down" thing.

We had planned to see the new Harry Potter movie this weekend and that will have to be put on hold, a little disappointing maybe but certainly not a crisis, and I was hoping to go to the beach on Saturday, but maybe we can walk to the one down below our place or maybe not, the beach will still be there next weekend. It's great to be able to see thing clearly now that all the fog has passed.