First I have to apologize for not writing my November post. I made a commitment (to myself) to post at least once a month and for those one or two of you waiting with anticipation for each riveting article, I have failed you and myself so forgive me.
Ok, time to move on:)…So yesterday Len (my husband of 33 years) and I experienced our first ballroom dance lesson. It was fun and awkward at the same time. Our teacher/instructor was great. She was patient and very good at explaining as well as showing us what to do and kept encouraging us. Although some of her praise I felt was undeserved I suppose it is part of what makes her a good instructor.
As with most new things I attempt, part way through the experience I had an epiphany. As she was explaining each of our roles for the umpteenth time…it sounded strangely familiar…and I couldn’t stop myself from exclaiming “this is like marriage counseling!” Yup…that’s right…I said it out loud:). Twice as a matter of fact. She’s telling him he has to LEAD … showing me where he want’s to take me … CLEARLY … so I won’t be confused and frustrated. And she’s telling me I need to pay attention to what he is doing and look for those “indicators”. Be sensitive to the pressure of his hand and body and move WITH him. Interesting. The whole thing was like a biblical marriage counseling session.
We struggled through me trying not to lead and failing:) and then doing what I thought he should be doing and he was struggling with confidence and hesitation, at times giving up and stopping (laughing of course) before trying again.
I knew a woman who was a pastor and also a committed ball room dance competitor. I heard her speak once on the different ball room dances and what they required of the dancers. She drew some awesome parallels not about marriage, but about our relationship with God. How HE is the lead and how we are to follow. The closeness of the dancers and the discipline and trust the movements require. As much as my family and friends may get tired of my spiritual “epiphanies” and parallels that I can’t seem to resist sharing with them, (cue eye rolling and bored looks 🙂 I am thankful that God chooses to reveal Himself and teach me through everyday, sometimes seemingly mundane, life activities that I can not only find joy in but be in awe of His infinite wisdom as I dance this dance of life with Him.
By the end of the lesson Len and I had gotten the hang of it…well, mostly…and danced through 4 minutes of music without stopping. Success! How fun and rewarding it was to have even 4minutes of dancing in step and gliding (sorta) across the dance floor. We will definitely be scheduling more lessons…and maybe even get better at the dance of life in the process.
Psalm 150:4 (ESV)
4 Praise him with tambourine and dance;
praise him with strings and pipe!
Well, I’m one of the people who reads your posts, so keep ’em coming! Your dance lesson story makes me laugh, but at the same time doesn’t surprise me. And I think it’s great that not only does God use so many ordinary situations to teach you about himself, but that you can’t help but share those epiphanes. That’s what makes you a gifted teacher! The best ones can take just about anything in life and see God in it. Keep preachin’, sister!! 🙂 Love you!