Wiggly teeth
It's an exciting time at our house -- our youngest is about to lose one of her top front teeth! She's been showing everyone how wiggly it's getting (leaning really hard into her teenage siblings' cringes, which is hilarious to watch), and it's at the point now where I think if she sneezes too hard it'll fly out. The Tooth Fairy is ready to visit at any moment.
All of this tooth excitement is reminding me of something I've been thinking a lot about lately.
There are things in our lives that have taken a whole lot of energy and pain to develop (remember those poor miserable baby teeth-cutting phases??). They are a huge part of our beginning, and they've served us well for years.
And then those things get wiggly.
If we don't know what's happening, this is a really scary feeling (kind of like when our oldest got his first wiggly tooth before we thought to tell him it was going to start happening.... #woops #rookieparents #sorryagainbuddy).
If we do know what's happening, we see that this is a natural process, where there's something even stronger and more permanent ready to take its place. But it takes time. For a while, there's a gap. From the outside, it can be endearing and fun to sing Christmas songs about ("All I want for Chrithmuth ith my two front teeth..."). But from the inside, it can be uncomfortable and sometimes frustrating -- especially when we can't bite into an apple or a sandwich like we used to.
When we think about growth, it's easy to focus on the thing we're growing. But it's also really important to think about the things we have to lose first in order to make room for that new growth. Let it be wiggly and awkward -- even "cringy" for a while. Allow grace for the gap. What's coming next is worth it.
