Recently, I just had my braces removed. It was a long four year wait, before I finally achieve that smile I can be proud of. You see, I used to look like a rabbit because of my teeth. And having to wear braces was not easy, too. You had to brace yourself for the pain of monthly adjustment, get used to dental apparatus, and allot ample time every month to visit your dentist. You also had to sacrifice eating solid foods for your teeth can't manage to bite anything hard, at times. At some point in my life, I also was impatient and in a hurry to be finally freed from the braces that bound my teeth. During those moments, I had to put my full trust in my doctors, that they know what's the best for me, as they were the experts on it. I had to be consistent and persistent in my monthly visits, or else, the longer I delay and dilly-dally, the longer it will take for my teeth to align. But that four years, I should say was worth the long wait.
Because in reality, everything in life is about waiting. And to wait means to sacrifice a lot, or to stretch our patience to our limits. One thing that I realized as I wait for four years for my teeth to be in its best look and form was the waiting stage feels really awkward, as if everything was in a disarray. Wearing braces, though may appear cute for some, is an inconvenience in a number of ways. But in life, there are certain sacrifices that you have to make to look good or to be better. Growth, development, and improvement is never a walk in the park. It takes strength of character to survive the waiting stage. Waiting enables us to appreciate the beauty of the moment and look forward to what the future is in store. It is trusting God even without knowing what tomorrow will bring. Likewise, it is having faith and hope, that after the dreary waiting, all things will work for good. It is believing, without doubts, that the best things in life are always yet to come. When you anchor your hope, faith, and trust in your God whose plans are always for good, and never for harm, you know perfectly that you are in the right hands.
There may be a lot of things in life that you are waiting to unfold or to happen at your life right now. It may be a promotion, professional advancement, a special someone, a lost in pounds. Whatever that may be, all the little steps you do toward that ultimate goal of yours will be worth it, all in the right time. With the right attitude as you wait, for sure, it will be given to you.
I would say that the smile that I am aiming for has been given to me now. I have no regrets that I waited long. I am happy that I persevered and believed. It takes a lot of patience to be where I am right now. Surely, this is not the last time I will wait. There are still a lot of things to work and wait for. But if you really wanted and prayed for something badly and crazily, without a doubt, it will happen. It will be a terrifying wait, but the fulfillment of the dream is what matters most than the agony and pain of waiting.
