1-2-3-4-5-6-7 and 8 ….and….
Can you feel the beat?
I grew up dancing – but I have to tell you I find it so much more enjoyable now. Don’t get me wrong – I’m so thankful I got to learn how to do pirouettes and pull-backs, grand jete jumps and the jive, but these days I find myself enjoying the art of movement in a different way….
Nowadays, I would much rather dance with my two year old son than learn things at a ballet bar. I would rather slow dance with my husband in our living room than dance on the biggest of stages. And I would rather dance for an audience of One than dance for thousands. (Not that I was ever even close to being good enough to dance in front of thousands anyway – but y’all get the point!)
Yes. These days dancing isn’t about slicking my hair into a bun with Dippity Doo and it isn’t about getting all of the steps just right. It has taken on more of a symbolic meaning in my life.
I was given a book a few years back called Dance While You Can: Gentle Reminders to Help You Live Life to the Fullest by Lance Wubbels. It is just a little gift book with tender pictures and short snippets on every page, but it really inspires me. Let me share some of it with you:
“To dance…. I will stop looking back with regrets….or looking forward with fear…and give the best I have today.”
“I will believe that what God has placed inside me is superior to the mountains that stand in my way.”
“To dance….I will be daring and courageous and refuse to allow fear to control my actions.”
“To dance…I will stop complaining about what I don’t have. And I will learn to be truly grateful for what I do have. I will be content. Though not complacent.”
“May you always follow in the steps of the Lord of the Dance and experience the joy of His life song for your lives.”
Don’t those words just move you? And don’t they just make you want to move? Instead of moping through life – let’s move through life. Instead of dreading – let’s dance.
Turn up the music.
Get your dancing shoes on kids….it’s past time to shake our groove thangs through this thing we call life 🙂
Isn't it sad how much easier it is to dance as children when we need it so much more as adults? Timely post for me–I've just this week started dancing with my three year old. He stands on a kitchen chair and we dance to whatever music is playing–even jingles on TV. His laughter is infectious and takes away any self-consciousness.
What a beautiful post. I'm about to turn up the music and dance with my 5 children. Maybe one at a time, or maybe we'll just have a party and dance all together.
Happy dancing!