This month was such an incredibly busy month. Looking ahead at it, I knew we would be doing good to get through it. It included traveling, putting on a few big events, a couple smaller ones, a couple weddings, and our daughter’s graduation. It would conclude my Wednesday night Bible Study at church, and Wednesday night feeding of the church at our Stony Cafe. And it was going to be exhausting.
And it was. But, if you prepare for the things you can prepare for, and plan to conquer those you can’t on the fly, with help from the family and prayer for strength to physically keep on, all things are possible with God!
It’s always fun to see two people who love God and have a sweet special love for each other get married. But to see it twice in one month was really wonderful! At both weddings there was dancing, and these couples knew how to dance. And so did their friends. We had so much fun watching them dance! And, in both spur-of-the-moment opportunties, my husband and I got to dance together as well. It was nothing like these couples, who were amazing. But, it was a sweet, special moment together, not once, but twice!
My daughter managed to capture the dances, unbeknownst to us till after. The photos capture the feelings of that moment, like we were the only two people in the room, even though we were in the midst of many. Our dancing isn’t well choreographed, and we certainly haven’t been able to practice. But we also don’t just stand there and sway either. It’s just enjoyable, fun, an unrehearsed set of moments that feel good. I admit to being a little envious of those who know the dance, of those who rehearse the dance and were ready for the dance. They looked like professionals and it was so beautiful to watch. The dance, a dance, a fabulously arranged dance, or our sweet un-practiced dance just screams relationship no matter how you saw it.
I thought about that alot this weekend. My relationship to my husband, my man, my love. Sometimes our lives are routine, practiced, rehearsed, and sometimes they are spontaneous and worked out on the fly. Sometimes we are so in sync, we could dance and you’d never know that we hadn’t in a long time. And sometimes our relationship is off beat, each in a little rhythm of its own, and we probably don’t look so good dancing. And then I thought about it in terms of my relationship with Christ. Sometimes I’m in sync with Him beautifully, and He leads and I can take direction, and it looks and feels exactly right! And other times, I probably look out of sync and one step behind, awkwardly catching up, as if Inever knew how to dance at all.
To look the way the wonderful couples at the wedding looked dancing….it takes a couple things. The first is practice! You have to spend the time doing it alot, so that whether it’s on the fly, or fully expected, you’re ready. Second, it requires an ability to follow the leader of the dance. My husband videotaped my daughter dancing with a number of nice young men who obviously knew how to dance. She did a pretty good job keeping up, but I noticed something right at the end. The young man was looking for a beautiful finish to the dance, and as he gently twirled her around backward, folding her into his arms, he intended to dip her slightly back for the final move. But she, not knowing, and probably with a little unwillingness to let him lead with her complete abandon, she sort of refused the move. Leaving her looking out of sync at the end. She graciously twirled away, with a little kick and a smile on her face. But not following the leader.
The picture of the bride and groom at each wedding was the epitome of following the leader of the dance. Each morning brings us the same opportunity to dance. We can either practice and be ready and in sync with Jesus, the leader of the dance. Or, we can be ready to move with Him on the spur of the moment, ready to move, lean or be dipped back in complete faith and trust, even though we don’t know the dance. Or, we can do both…..
What does YOUR dance look like?
Kristan Russell 