Dancing
Singers and dancers alike say, “All my springs are in you.” – Psalm 87:7 (NRSV)
The rain bucketed down, an unwelcome sight at summer camp on a Thursday afternoon. Campers and counselors alike watched it sadly from beneath streaming roofs.
Except for a pair of summer staffers dancing in the rain.
Spray leaped from the water pooled beneath their feet. Droplets flew from their outstretched fingers as their arms whirled in the downpour. They leapt and glided, laughed and sang, soaking faces aglow with delight.
Why aren’t we dancing?
We are made for dancing. For exulting. For joy. Amidst the evil in the world, in faith we Christians know this magnificent reality above all else:
God so loved the world.
God so loved the world.
God so loved the world.
Given such love, how ever (and why ever) do we keep ourselves from dancing through the days?
We face sorrows and disappointments, labors and obligations, tragedies and traumas. Each day we find ourselves caught between leaky faucets and laundry. We need healing. People need us. We need to fulfill our callings.
Where is the time or energy for dancing in the rain?
After some whirls and pirouettes, the two young people seized brooms to push the pooling water off the streaming deck in a futile race against the downpour. Futile, perhaps, but still dancing. Still joyful.
They seized the time.
Joy is the wellspring of discipleship. The life of faith flows from our joy. We learn how much God loves us, how much God loves those around us. That love bursts forth in smiles, and giggles, and embraces, and joyous work.
Perhaps our joy will even prompt a dancing step or two along the way.
How could it not?
Prayer
With the tenderness of hula, with the exuberance of hip-hop, with the serenity of ballet, O God: Let us dance. Amen.
About the AuthorThe Rev. Eric S. Anderson is pastor of Church of the Holy Cross UCC in Hilo, Hawai’i. He blogs at ordainedgeek.com.