Final Farewell

I am not going to cry.

I have been thinking about this last blog for about six months. I have gone round and round, trying to decide what to write about. I found the link to the Jerry Maguire clip about Rod Tiswell.

I have decided not to talk about dentistry because I think dentistry is just a small piece of our lives. I want to talk about our lives and how dentistry relates to it. One of the reasons I wanted to write for The Daily Grind was I felt there was a big injustice going on in the world of dentistry and no one wanted to tell the truth. No one wanted to be vulnerable.

I wanted to tell the truth about life and I wanted to tell the truth about dentistry. I didn't want to paint this rosy picture of life and our profession. We know it is not always rosy and I knew only talking about my successes would not build relationships.

An open discussion about failure and the tough parts about dentistry and life, I think, breaks down walls and makes it easier to relate to. If, over these last four years, you didn't hear from me that life is hard, I have failed. If you haven't heard from me that I fail sometimes because this job is really hard, I haven't done a good job. I think I have done some really good things and I got to show them to you. But I tried not to make it about how awesome I am and how this job is so easy and if you can't do it like me you suck.

I wanted to give everyone a dose of reality. This life and profession is a mix of failure and success, good and bad. And as long as the good is more than the bad, the successes more than the failures, you are doing pretty good (probably better than most).

Life right now is so busy. I am the new owner of this practice and every day I leave here with three hours worth of work that hasn't been done. I go from work straight to a game and have to leave the game early to pick up my daughter at piano practice. I get home, eat, run, shower, wrestle with the boys, tuck in, say prayers, then fall asleep in front of the TV, only to wake up and repeat. And I know you are all going through similar things.

How do we do this job and not be clinically depressed sometimes? I have got to believe that any job that deals with the public and with money is going to have its challenges. So how do I deal?

Well, I think I would be remiss if didn't tell you that for me, it is Jesus. I am sorry, but I am going to get all Tim Tebow on you. I give it all to God. I look at all things through eternal eye wear. As a Christian, I believe I am His. My life is His, along with everything else. This practice is His. My kids are His. And if I believe this, I have to trust Him. I am now His instrument. I believe in WWJD (What would Jesus do?), and run my practice this way.

If a person comes in to my practice and is hurting and doesn't have any money, WWJD? I am pretty sure He would help them. If someone needed a 5-unit bridge and needed five implants and they had the means to pay, WWJD? He would see that he pays. I just do the best I can with the gifts (and just in case you needed a slap in the face to be reminded, being a dentist is a gift) that God gave me.

Do I walk around with Jesus-colored glasses and just smile all day because Jesus loves me? No. Do things go wrong? Heck yeah, but I try not to get too low. Things go right and I can get praised, and while that that feels so good, I try not to get too high (I try to boast in Him).

We all know that things could be going well at work and things could be falling apart at home. I have to think that I am really enjoying my work right now. My team is good and my patients are happy. But have a cousin, whom I love like crazy, who is 43 years old with three kids. He is dying of cancer; they gave him months to live.

Maybe things are good at home and then things are good at work, but then you hear about a pastor at a church down the street that left his wife and three kids to run off with his secretary. Yeah, life is hard. But I try not to forget that Jesus cried too. I mean He knows the end game, he knew what was to come and still cried when life got hard. He cried for His world. It is broken.

How do I deal? I just do the best I can do and give it to Him. If He thinks me blowing up and making tons of money and treating celebrities on a new reality show is right, then I will do it. If He dictates me getting the crap sued out of me and I lose it all and have to be an accountant, then I have to be okay with it and continue serving Him (I kind of would rather not do either and continue doing this).

That is why Christmas is so special. It is the celebration of God sending His son to earth to rectify this crazy, fallen world. And through Jesus we have a way to the Father (heaven) again. Remember this line from the Bible: "I am the way."

The blog has been a way for me to vent, celebrate, cry, cheer, laugh, and scream along with you. It has been a way to bring dentists together and to make dentists, who might feel alone, feel part of something.

I hope we have accomplished this. I hope you have liked it. I hope you have loved it and have hated at times (but come back to it). I hope you have agreed with me and have disagreed with me.Mostly I hope you have seen love in my life. I hope I have reflected Christ in all the things I have done. I’m not perfect, but I am me.

Just remember, as I say goodbye, this blog will continue and is in very good hands. You still must read it.

But for me, I have been blessed so much with this blog I can't even put it into words. Thank you for reading and commenting and being a part of my life for four years. I wish you all well.

God bless,

john