How to Dance When You Have Two Left Feet
There is something that you need to know about me. It’s nothing serious. It hasn’t hindered my life in anyway…. well may just a little when I was dating. The fact that I suffer from this affliction has at moments made my life fun (of course, that is mostly due to the fact that I am able to laugh at myself). So here’s the thing… I can’t dance, like not even a little bit. I roughly resemble an orangutan, not like King Louis from Jungle Book, that guy has moves. More like a wild orangutan from National Geographic. Think Elaine from Seinfield. I teased once that even sea turtles dance better than me. Steve got me dancing lessons once for our anniversary; lets just say they didn’t help.
This morning while in the truck, I was listening to one of my favorite worship songs, We Dance by Bethel Music. While it was playing, I was praying. I started imagining myself dancing with Jesus. I told him that I know I can dance with Him because He would make it possible for me to dance. I imagined myself standing on his feet like a child while he twirled me around, but He immediately said, “No, I want more for you. I want you to learn to dance. Standing on my feet is ok and I would be happy to have you close to me, but I want more for you. If you will trust me to lead, I will direct your steps”. I’m not gonna lie; that made me tear up a little bit.
You see, when I was doing the dance lessons with Steve, I think the fact that I struggled with letting him lead made it more difficult for me to learn. I knew the steps, too. We were taught the steps together, but we were not in sync because I wanted control. I knew where to go and where to step, unfortunately dancing as a couple doesn’t really work that way.
I suppose I should have seen it coming. Jesus has been talking to me a lot about trust lately. For the last several months everything from sermons on Sunday morning to conversations with Steve and even my devotionals, have all been surrounded by the topic of trust. This mornings devotion said, “When Jesus says to take his yoke upon you, He’s saying He’s going to share the problems that you already have. He’s going to take your stress on himself and bear it with you. He is saying “walk with me and work with me —watch how I do it and learn from me.” His “yoke is easy and His burden is light” because He is with us and empowering us with His Spirit. So draw near to Him and find the rest your soul needs”. When I read that this morning, I thought about how Jesus works with us. It takes trust to let go of control. It takes faith and trust to believe that when we let go and let him lead, the burden we carry will not crush us. We still have to do the work. We still experience stress and pain and hurt and tiredness. What happens when we let Him lead our steps? He helps us carry the burden, he shows us how to have joy even in the worst of circumstances. That peace the passes understanding comes when we are near Him, and what better way to spend your time near Jesus than to follow Him in the beautifully choreographed steps called Life?!?
I suppose I have to revise my previous statement. I can dance. I can dance with my Lord. I can let Him lead me around this dance floor I call my life and it’s beautiful.
