Yesterday I got teeth! In March I lost three teeth and the gums above them when I had the operation to remove the tumor from my palate. Yesterday I received my new obturator that has my new teeth on it.
It took me a while to share a picture with you of my obturator because it was too intimate at the time to expose this part of my journey with you.
Now I am at a place where I am able to share what it looks like with you. My obturator is the removable device I need to wear in order to speak articulately and eat/drink without things coming out of my nose. It is a gift to me and to all the others who have had similar surgeries.
I am sharing this picture with you as a reminder that appearances can be deceiving. On the outside people may appear well but on the inside people may have wounds invisible to the eye. It is these invisible wounds that may impact a person's heart and therefore impact the way they act.
This is why living out love and kindness is so important. Everyone is dealing with something, it may be visible, it may be invisible. We need to remember that our words can be fuel on the fire in people's hearts or can help defuse the fire in their soul.
My hope in sharing this is that we may...
Pause. Breathe. Pray.
And when interacting with others, from family to strangers, may we honor each other's visible and invisible wounds. Imagine the difference it would make in the hearts of others, and in the world, if we saw everyone as the wounded warriors we are and treated one another with love and kindness.
With love and hope,
Shawn
"Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves." - Romans 12:10