Coco Calling No.329: A Trip to the Dentist

One thing that always fascinates me about my human owner and his wife are their teeth. You see, parrots don’t have them, and so it’s always quite exciting to explore something different. So, if I catch them yawning, or opening their mouths as they’re about to say something, I quickly stick my head in for a closer look. And I reckon I can be quite useful, because if there’s anything loose in there, I’ll pull it out. Yup, loose fillings, -wobbly teeth, -they’re all in a day’s work for me. And sometimes, I even try to take a look at their tonsils and uvula, -that is until they start choking and cough me back out again. And I reckon that if I’d been hatched as a human, I’d have made a very good dentist. Mind you, I’m rather glad that I’m as I am, because a beak is far less trouble than a whole set of teeth. And being the wonderful parrot that I am, I never have to go and see a ‘beakist.’

My owner’s recently had to visit his dentist twice in the space of just two weeks. And like most humans, I don’t think he views it as ‘a nice day out.’ In fact, I don’t think any humans enjoy a trip to the dentist, and there needs to be a whole lot of trust involved. Because sometimes a haphazard dentist can slip and make your gum bleed, -and that’s called “acci-dental.” And if they slip even more, it can then go into the realms of “brain surgery.” 

Fortunately, my owner came home afterwards with all of his brain and teeth intact, and these visits serve as a reminder that he can’t always be in control over everything in his life. There are times when we all need to ‘ sit back in the chair’ and hand ourselves over to be made ‘right’ again. And that especially applies if we want to get to know Jesus.

After all, Jesus is the dentist, the surgeon and redeemer of our souls. We depend upon Him to put right what has gone wrong inside us. And we have no option but to place all of our trust in Him. That’s how it works.  Too many humans find it hard to let go, -too hard to hand themselves over and to take that leap of faith. But at the end of the day, if we want to get to Heaven, we have to submit to Jesus and be put right. Even parrots!

 

“Stranger, tread this ground with gravity for dentist Brown is filling his last cavity.”

(On a dentist’s headstone in an Edinburgh cemetery).

“You know it’s time to start using mouthwash when the dentist leaves the room and sends in a canary.”

(Joan Rivers: [1933-2014]: American comedian, actress and writer).

“Let God have your life. He can do more with it than you can.”

(Dwight J. Moody: [1837-1899]: Prominent American evangelist and preacher).

“A man is not far from the gates of heaven when he is fully submissive to the Lord’s will.”

(Charles Spurgeon: [1834-1892]: English Baptist preacher, still referred to today as ‘The Prince of Preachers.”

"Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that He may lift you up in time.” 

(1 Peter 5:6).

“When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.”

(Psalm 56:3)