The other day I asked the Dental Assistant who was cleaning my teeth how her “spiritual life” was going. She paused and said, “Well, if you mean going to church, I haven’t been for a while, but my husband and I are trying something new this year. At the beginning of November, we started giving thanks for three new things every morning, and we are going to do this until Thanksgiving Day.”
“Wow,” I thought to myself (because by this time her hands were in my mouth cleaning away, so I couldn’t talk), “I guess giving thanks is being spiritual to some extent, as long as you are giving thanks to God.” After a few minutes, I was able to speak for just a few seconds as she switched the tools she was using, and I said, “Huh, that’s pretty cool, I’ve never heard of that before, but I give you credit for trying something different.” She said, “Thanks, it’s been a challenge,” and that was it, because she was back at work doing her job. As she was working on my teeth, I thought to myself, “Being spiritual can involve anything, anytime, anywhere, as long as it seeks to reflect God’s Holy Spirited activity in your life or in the lives of others.” Now, whether this woman and her husband were motivated by the Holy Spirit to give thanks everyday, I don’t know. But, I do know that God can work through what is most personal, caring, kind, and gentle in our lives, including the hands that were busy cleaning away in my mouth. As the old saying goes, sometimes what is the most “earthy” about us is also where we are the most “spiritual”, and I couldn’t think of anything more earthy than having my teeth cleaned. So, I guess it was a “spiritual moment” of sorts right there in the dentist chair.
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