Dentures that Bite
Saturday, we had a clean-up session at church. You know, dusting the chandelier, fixing doors and cleaning the yard. Basic kind of stuff. Where I came from there is an abundance of cheap labour. Most ministers I knew never attended to any yard work at their churches or even at their homes. This coupled with the fact that Saturday here in Canada is my own family’s day we attend to vacuuming, cleaning and fixing our own residency, made this Saturday’s appointment not one I particularly looked forward to very much.
But something wonderful happens when people do something in community and without monetary reward. Cleaning sessions turns into interesting chats. You get to know other people better and increase your sense of ownership of your church facilities. This ownership is of a special kind. That of shared ownership. The sense that this is our church. And so, I went about the various tasks and couldn’t believe how time flew.
Whilst cleaning a corner of our church yard where addicted folk often hide, use and overnight, I came across a peculiar item. It was a set of dentures for the lower jaw. When you find such an item after you have worked hard it is funny and there is nothing wrong with having a laugh about such an odd discovery. I even posted a picture on Facebook of it to share my humorous finding with friends.
But when I reflect on it now, I think it could have been a bit insensitive of me to just laugh. There is a story lurking behind these teeth, and it is probably a tragic one. Think about it. There are usually two kinds of people that need dentures. Elderly folks whose teeth are worn out by age…and drug addicted people whose teeth are worn out by drug abuse. “Meth teeth” some call it. So the drug addicted men that generally hang around our neighbourhood is mostly white men between 45 and 60, not really the typical age at which one needs dentures not related to drug abuse (I do admit that there are notable exceptions and that this is probable speculations rather than exact conclusions).
So, let us assume that this was a person in mid life, whose teeth were worn out prematurely through drug abuse. It is highly likely. Him having dentures most probably mean that he has been through rehab and have been sober for some time. Dentures are costly and usually something recovered people splash on as reward for them overcoming addiction and finding stability (if able to do so or sponsored). So, this person probably fell back after a period of sobriety. So much so that one evening he lost his dentures without noticing and woke up unable to remember where he was and where he could find them again. He is most likely not able to afford another set just like that and even if he could, it wouldn’t quite spare him the humiliation involved in loosing his dentures on a high and dealing with the consequences afterwards.
Suddenly I realize that those dentures are no laughing matter. Quite the contrary. They now bite into my heart. Maybe that is a good thing. Maybe I moved one step closer to moving closer to the neighbours God has given us in this neighbourhood and in understanding them and our calling better.
I pray to God that the man who lost his teeth, didn’t lose his life yet. Jesus who makes all things new can salvage them both.
Gabriel J Snyman
October 19th 2020