The Dance of Life

What is a dance? It is a series of movements that flow with the speed and rhythm of the music.  Isn’t that similar to the rhythm of life?

We move in and out of our day at the speed and the necessity prescribed by our circumstances and our decisions. It is not always a beautiful dance but a continual movement of the mind, body and spirit.  Sometimes we are on auto pilot.  When we are, then the mind, body and spirit are not always in sync with each other.  I think that maybe why we struggle sometimes when life is harder than it needs to be.

I began thinking along those lines when I heard the hymn, “The Lord of The Dance” written by poet and songwriter, Sydney Carter in 1963.  I love the chorus:  “Dance, then, wherever you may be, I am the Lord of the dance, said He; And I’ll lead you all, wherever you may be, and I’ll lead you all in the dance, said he.”

Dance-the action of living, doing and being.  I’m not talking about the washing dishes/cleaning house part of life, but of those things that engage our body, mind and spirit.  These are the important and often memorable things.  Things created by God that are meant to be enjoyed.  Also, things that have a purpose and an eternal significance.

The song, I Hope You Dance” written by Mark D. Sanders and Tia Sillers, sung by Lee Ann Womack in 2000 is beautiful.  I have always loved it because it captures my philosophy of life.  “I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean, whenever one door closes, I hope one more opens. Promise me that you’ll give faith a fighting chance, and when you get the choice to sit it out or dance, I hope you dance.”

God created the dance.  God created the rhythm of life to be lived to its fullest.  Hopefully not leaving it all up to chance, but to Him.  We should not be worrying about tomorrow and how it all will end.  We should enjoy the beauty of our relationships, the beauty of creation. We need to simply begin to enjoy the wonderful act of living.  Not being afraid to pursue life even when a door closes or a relationship ends either in a breakup or in death.  We need to live in the hope and trust that God is opening up another door for us to walk through.

The dance of life is precious and a lot of times, (but not always) enjoyable.  Definitely memorable.  I don’t know about you, but when I look back, I would not change much.  My first, but difficult marriage gave me my precious daughter and a bushel basket full of life lessons that drew me closer to God.  My second marriage to Mark gave me three more precious children and 34 years of happiness and wonderful memories.  The dance, the ebb and flow of good and hard times has made me who I am today. 

We make wrong decisions sometimes but God works through them. Romans 8:28. And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. It is up to us to recognize what He has given us to enjoy and learn from.  These are the things that make us better people.  People of character; grateful and kind people that know how to dance. 

Prayer

Heavenly Father, you are the Lord of the dance.  Teach us how to move in your rhythm of life, in sync with your Spirit and your plan and purpose.  Help us learn to soak up the good and persevere through the hard times of life.  Help us dance with you instead of away from you.  May the days of our life bring a smile to your face as we learn the steps you are trying to teach us.  May we allow ourselves to find joy and pleasure in the choreographed script of our life. In Jesus’ name, amen.

God Bless,

Sally

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