Do you crave a dance? Do you desire an invitation from a Lover as music begins playing?
I’ve seen dads dance with their daughters at weddings. I’ve also seen dads distance themselves from their daughters.
David, a poetic author and my biblical hero who killed a giant and wrote songs and led a nation and did wrong, got into a little trouble when he danced. Maybe it was his clothing – or lack of such needed material. But, sometimes, the best way to respond to joy is to dance.
I know. Some churches still condemn dancing. Some people drink and dance their way to temporary happiness in their method of denial. Some places welcome dances that are not healthy or appropriate. Some types of dancing aren’t right. I know.
I also know the wonder of this thought: the One who loves us most has invited us to a dance. We can’t afford the price to get in – He’s already paid it. We aren’t sure of the music, the alignment, the sequence, the movement, the space, the timing – He’ll gladly guide us. We worry about performance, score, ranking – He’s joyful seeing our willingness to receive his invitation.
Let’s receive the invitation to dance. Let’s step up from our couches of complacency, our tables of fear, our chairs of doubt, our seats of unfamiliarity.
Hear the music. See the welcome. Respond to the invitation.
Stand up. Step forward. Walk toward the One who has invited you here. Begin to let music of grace guide your steps. Begin to let rhythm of redemption lead your motion. Begin to rejoice a while – no longer obsessed by the pain and hurts you’ve carried for so long.
Dancing isn’t denial. It is choosing to be glad no matter what’s staring back, choosing to celebrate in a world of wounds, choosing to let a moment not pass by without a segment of festival.
Let us dance.
This is an excerpt from Pause: The Secret to a Better Life One Word at a Time by Chris Maxwell. Copyright ©2012 by Chris Maxwell. Published by True Potential Publishing. Used by permission.
