In the small village of Jablonica, Slovakia, I have been blessed by the big hearts of numerous women missing teeth. Though we don't even speak the same language -- the love comes through in waves... and in a variety of freshly prepared food. I -- who have continually struggled with not letting my insecurities about my image (complexion, weight, double chin, etc.) be at the forefront of my mind -- have wallowed in the wonder of being caringly embraced by these women... and so many others in my two home-away-from-home countries. While doing so, I am re-recognizing an indelible truth. Love trumps teeth.
Who cares about teeth? Literally, we all know that dental health is important; good, strong teeth and gums actually protect our bodies of the invasions of all kinds of icky stuff. But, figuratively -- especially as it relates to image -- why are teeth so darn important to our sense of self?
They're not, if your name was "Uncle Lamar." My dad's brother was born with Down syndrome. He was born in an era when doctors told my grandparents to institutionalize him. They didn't. Grandmama and Granddaddy were then told he would only live to be 16, then 25. My uncle passed away when he was 56. He lived because of love -- his for others, and others' for him.
He did all this, especially in his adult years, with absolutely no teeth. Somewhere along the line, Uncle Lamar discovered he liked going to the dentist; as I understand it, he would go about loosening his teeth until they needed to be pulled. We can chuckle at this. We can picture a toothless man with Down Syndrome and say, "yeah, well, but that's different." But is it really?
What I mean is: "how much do we care out our own self-image that we let it become too big of a deal to us?" My uncle cared not one whit about his image. Uncle Lamar cared about loving and being loved. In fact, any ability I have to love without condition was strongly influenced by how I saw God's love permeate my uncle's life in layers.
Being healthy is good. I'm not encouraging us to gain un-needed weight, never exercise or not brush our teeth. I'm certainly not advocating loosening our molars just to sit in a dental chair. However, we in the wealthier parts of the world -- America, Western Europe, some parts of Asia, etc. -- really emphasize image over identity. Whose are we?
The women of Jablonica don't need all their teeth to share all their love. They don't seem to care about my red face, double chin or added hip dimension. They just delight in loving and sharing from their abundance (which isn't material wealth, let me tell you). I hear echoes of my uncle declaring his care while I relish the reality of God's everlasting love[1].
Yes, I think that’s the meat of the matter. Love is the toothy truth.
[1] Jeremiah 31:3
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thanks for commenting. Comments go through a monitoring process by the blog author before being published (or not). This is for filtering out inappropriate or offensive information. Thanks for understanding =o).