My hands clenched the arms of the dentist’s chair. The drill whined, dredging the filling out of a tooth I’d broken the week before when I chomped down on a peanut. The anesthesia the dentist had needled into my gums kept the pain at bay, yet my muscles tensed, making my back ache.

Relax, I told myself firmly, just relax. The lecture didn’t work.

Then I remembered what our minister had said the previous Sunday: “Praise God in all things.”

Praise God for this? Well, it was worth a try.

God, I praise You for this dentist who is fixing my tooth. I praise You that this tooth didn’t have to be pulled. I praise You for medicine that deadens pain. I praise You for this drill that is removing the old filling to make way for the new. Gradually my body relaxed.

At last the drilling stopped. The dentist patted my cheek and said, “The worst is over. Now we’ll put in the new filling and you’ll be on your way.”

I praise You, God, for the gift of a fixed tooth!

Father, today I will reach out with the message of Your love to someone who is afraid.