.retainers.

On a very unrelated pre-post note...I am sitting here on the living room floor, eating applesauce and Easy Mac. Twelve hours ago I sat in this exact same spot for two hours playing the new Mario Brothers Wii game with my roommates. I think that OT school is causing me to regress into child-like behaviors from the past....hmm...just a random thought.

Carrying on, the actual thought for this post came about last night, while I was laying in bed. As previously mentioned, I spent the last week being sick, which turned out being not-so-bad after all. Regardless, when I'm sick I don't wear my retainers. I just don't like putting those germy things in my mouth and getting sick germs all over them, so I guess there is a small bonus in being sick (who REALLY wants to wear their retainers anymore?!). This being said, I normally wear my retainers every night. After starting the orthodontics process at age 6, having oral surgery, and going 6+ years with braces, I feel that wearing my retainers is a good thing to prevent me from ever going back to that disaster. But going 5 nights without wearing my retainers....OUCH! That was no fun, and needless to say I didn't sleep especially well last night.

Here's the connection. This comes partially from the lesson we did on Wednesday night, but it has stuck with me since then. Hebrews 12:7-11 discusses God's discipline for his sons. It's talking about how it is crucial that God does this in order that we may share in his holiness and produce a harvest of righteousness. Verse 11 is probably my favorite in the fact that is bluntly says, "No discipline is pleasant at the time, but painful." HOW AWESOME is it that The Word boldly just says that life following Christ will not be easy and it's MEANT to be hard, but IT IS WORTH IT. School has been heavily weighing down on me/my emotions this semester, and it's been a challenge to keep things in perspective....BUT how good is it to know that He flat out says that for those who are trained by this discipline will receive righteousness. But for those who don't submit to God's discipline are not true sons of His. He knows what is best for us, no matter what stuff He takes us through.
So...wearing my retainer after not wearing it for a week just plain hurts. Wearing it every night is LESS than appealing (or attractive), but ITS WORTH IT. God got me through the years of x-rays, rubber bands, face gear, chains, and surgery and has given me a happy smile....and yes, I do plan on wearing my retainers for a loooooong timee :)