Sunday, April 18, 2010

Do you dance too?

"Do you dance too?"
"No, not in public."
I had that coversation with someone a number of weeks ago.  He had seen me signing in worship and wanted to know if I danced in worship as well.  I'm not completely sure where my answer came from, or why I remembered that particular conversation, but it's stuck with me.  Last night at Encounter: I Am (prayer ministry meeting) a few people had images of me dancing on a beach.  I spent a lot of time last night thinking about dancing and wondering why I stopped.  It's been a long time since I've danced (Dutch dancing for tulip time doesn't count).  Those of you who have seen me dance know that I don't do it well, but I love to do it, and I have danced in public.  I danced at my grandmother's wedding.  I danced in cantatas.  I danced at camp during worship.  I danced at church.  I danced at Nine.  I danced in my room.  I usually danced with flags or banners or streamers, but sometimes I'd dance without. In highschool I put together a flag kit with lots of different flags and banners and a case to carry them in.  I'm not even sure where it is now.  I have two flags here at school with me and I don't think I've used them all year.
If I think back, I think I stopped dancing when I got sick.  When I got sick, I lost my energy and no longer had the energy to dance.  I'm by no means better yet, I still have the seizures and I still have days where even walking without falling is a challenge, but I want to dance again.  Two scriptures come to mind when I think reflect on it being time to dance again:
Psalm 30:11-12
You turned my wailing into dancing;
you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,
that my heart may sing to you and not be silent.
O LORD my God, I will give you thanks forever.

Ecclesiastes 3: 1-8
There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under heaven:
a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain,
a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.

I have no idea what it will look like or if I am even capable of it at this point, but I need to dance again.  Probably not on a beach, since I am in Pella and balance on sand is even trickier than balance on solid ground, but that doesn't matter.  And for the first time I think, I really want to learn how to dance. I think if I had the opportunity I'd take a ballet class or something. Maybe.  But for now, I think I'll just dance with Jesus in my room.