Dental Chair Perspective


Thanks to an intense fear of getting cavities, I became a manic toothbrusher as soon as I could hold a toothbrush.  Throughout my youth my teeth had nary a filling. But one rather humorous escapade changed all that. A couple decades ago when we were broke farmers, my husband and I were demolishing an ugly shed we'd built.

In this process, my husband didn’t see me and as he swung a large 2 x 4, it connected squarely to the back of my head. It didn’t rattle my brain too much but the impact cracked my four back teeth. Thankfully the teeth didn't cause any immediate problems but my dentist prophesized that eventually they would. He was right.

Recently, as I sat in the dentist chair with my mouth propped open, I began calculating the cost of four cracked teeth. Not much I could do about it now, so I thought about something else seemingly as hopeless: the US job market.

I observed the new dental assistant, who hoped one day to return to school to be a hygienist. My dentist was young and capable. Certainly there will always be needy teeth. Finding work shouldn’t be a problem for these two.




But I have many friends, younger and older, who are out of work. I also see  retirees going back to work as checkout clerks because they need money. This isn’t the America I once knew.  Jobs used to be readily available. If you didn’t like where you worked you could opt for more training or college and get different work.

I've been in a business that has sold apples for nearly 30 years. There is a direct connection between what we grow and jobs. Farmers, pickers, packers, inspectors, sales staffers, truckers, retailers—that’s a lot of jobs.

We can't just "buy local" we must produce more local products—giving jobs to Americans. 

Small businesses used to create 60-80% of our nation's new jobs, but it's been incredibly tough for them. I know. I'm a casualty of the cutbacks.

With a national debt that is growing at FOUR BILLION DOLLARS PER DAY we need to get more people working to help pay our nation’s bills. Experts say we're on a fiscal cliff. We're also being told our nation's future depends on this election. 

However, our problems are bigger than this election, the president and congress. We've gone a long way down the wrong road. Even though God didn't lead us down that road, He's waiting for us to turn around.

Here's the best news you'll get this election season: God will meet us right where we are and show us the way back. He empowers people to do the necessary hard work. We've been blessed before and we can be blessed again. He's waiting, but it's our turn to move. In God We Trust.....believe it.





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