{Five Minute Friday} Broken

I’m participating in Five Minute Friday, a link-up writing prompt at Lisa-Jo Baker’s blog. This week the prompt is “Broken …” 

Five minutes starts now. 

GO …

Her top right tooth had been danging. She said it had a crack in it. But when she meant was one side was hanging lower than the other side, creating a space between her tooth and gum. I wanted to just yank it out. But I couldn’t, not mentally.

So I encouraged her to pull her own tooth. That’s the kind of independence I like to create around here. And, you know, she did. For the second time, she pulled her own tooth. Another came out when she bit into a grape. And the first came when she wiggled it so much with her tongue at basketball camp. Four down.

I love the gap-toothed grin. It makes me smile so big you could see all my highly imperfect teeth. It reminds she’s growing up, something I adore witnessing and fostering and experiencing.

This morning on the way to school, she said she hoped her friends didn’t laugh at her and say she looked funny. She has a missing tooth on top now, just diagonally above another gap on the bottom to the left of the middle.

She seemed to dwell on being broken, like the gaps bothered her. 

But I reminded her that God made every part of her just like he wanted. He created this whole world, her included. Those teeth and that gap-tooth smiled included. I reminded her about how we have nothing to fear, just like that song we sing along with the radio says, because God is with us.

God was with his son too thousands of years ago when he hung from a cross and suffered for us. It must have seemed like such a dark, dark Friday. And he was with Jesus again when he arose from the tomb, shocking the world and securing a place for us with him for an eternity.

So there is no need to fear. And gap-tooth grins aren’t worth worrying about. Because this is a good Friday, the best of Fridays and sometimes being broken just means you’re growing. 

STOP.

Want to join us? Here are Lisa-Jo’s rules: 1. Write for 5 minutes flat – no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking. 2. Link back here and invite others to join in. 3. Please visit the person who linked up before you and encourage them in their comments. That is like the one rule we all really care about.

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