a broken promise

We have been to the dentist many, many times this year because Bella is prone to getting cavities and absess'. She has been a brave little girl, but ever since an emergency tooth extraction back in January, going to the dentist has been, well...unappealing to Bella. wink. This past Wednesday, Bella had yet another dentist appointment. But this was supposed to be our last appointment; it was just a simple cavity filling. I knew Bella would be leery of her appointment so I asked David if he could slip away from the office and join us. I was so excited that God worked everything out for our whole family to go support sweet Bella!
As we were heading out the door to go to the appointment, Bella pleaded, "I'm scared when they pull out my teeth! I don't want to go! I want to call and say no, we aren't coming today." I assured her that we would be home soon and then... I made a promise: "Baby, it won't take long at all! The dentist just wants to peek at all your teeth and make sure they're all healthy. I promise, they aren't pulling out any teeth today. It will be okay, I promise." *sigh* I made a promise that I could not keep.
We arrived at the dentist, and Bella clung to my leg when her name was called. The nurse allowed me to walk with Bella all the way to her chair and give her a kiss. I quickly exited the room and joined David, Wubs, and JJ in the waiting area. About twenty minutes later, the nurse came to talk to us. Bella had another absessed tooth. It had to be removed immediately. I felt my heart drop. We agreed to the additional charges for the unexpected extraction, and the nurse went back to give the dentist our consent. David, Wubs, and I held hands and prayed for Bella.
Soon, a groggy little Bella was guided back into the waiting room by the nurse. Her little mouth was already swollen, stuffed with gauze, and bloody drool was rolling down her chin. My eyes filled with tears and I scooped her up. She laid her head on my shoulder and I began apologizing profusely for breaking my promise. "I am SO so so sorry Baby. I didn't know that the dentist would find a boo boo tooth. I am so so sorry, mommy didn't know."
We dropped David off at the church and I came home with the children. JJ took his nap and the girls watched a movie. Bella even licked a popsicle. I was really wrestling with the fact that I made a promise and then I broke it. Even though it was unintentional, I felt a.w.f.u.l. The Holy Spirit encouraged my heart and reminded me that God can use all things for His glory, including my broken promise. I went to the couch with my Bible and I talked to the girls about mommy's broken promise. I told them that even though I love them with all my heart, and even though I would never ever mean to break a promise to them, the Truth is that God loves them sooooo much more than I do. And God's promises are the only promises that never ever get broken. I opened my Bible to Psalm 145 and I read, "The Lord is faithful to all his promises and loving toward all he has made." I wrote out this scripture on a piece of paper and I pointed out the word 'all'. God is faithful to all his promises. God is loving toward all he has made. I asked Bella to forgive me and we snuggled together for a long time. We are praying for healing for Bella's mouth and we are praising God for his faithfulness.

Have a wonderful weekend!

"The Lord is faithful to all his promises and loving toward all he has made. "- Psalm 145:13b