Pas de deux

Literally, "step for two". A dance.

God dances. Did you know that? While the word "dance" or "dancing" may not appear in the Bible with reference to God, the words "rejoice" found in Jeremiah (32:41) and "joy" (a verb, something done) in Zephaniah (3:17) both carry the connotation of the dance. Something done out of celebration.

Seen from a poetic, standpoint, life with God is indeed a dance. When we accepted Jesus, we took His hand, and stepped out onto the floor.

"A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance." (Ecclesiastes 3:4)

I believe after we overcome our two left feet and learn to follow His lead, He'll let us lead. More precisely, life becomes an adagio, where both of you are working in concert. I'm not a dancer, but I hear the adagio is difficult. It's one component of the pas de deux as seen as a complete dance. And whereas the adagio might be difficult, the word literally means "at ease" and this brings up an interesting point:

I think the most we can enjoy God and His dance with and over us, is when we're at peace. When the difficult work of practice and toil, rushing to the studio in the rain to rehearse time and again, is past. You stopped caring long ago, of the audience. It's now just you and God. The music of the Holy Spirit to which you rehearsed has become part of you and you move to its cadence without thinking. Oh, don't stop thinking, you get the idea. But you're life becomes so in tune with God that you wonder, you know? Brother Lawrence was so in love with the Lord that he wondered—from his little monastery kitchen toiling away in service to others—why God wouldn't allow him to experience some sort of pain and suffering to offset the superlative beauty of His presence. "A time to dance..."

The second book of Samuel (chapter 6) speaks of David dancing before the Lord. And whereas he was just fine dancing through the gates of Jerusalem before the Ark of the Covenant, clad only in his underwear, it was Saul's daughter Michal (his wife) who was the embarrassed one. David didn't care. It meant more to him that God see him genuinely joyful than what other people thought of such...shenanigans. Maybe that's what we feel in light of such insulated shyness. Why not dance? Maybe it's everyone else who'll be revealed as stodgy wallflowers who wouldn't want anyone to ask them to dance. Ask 'em anyway.

Some conservative denominations prohibit dancing in their pews and in their aisles. Others would freely let you cut a rug to your heart's content. The balance is where you see life as the dance and God as your partner. And if you feel less than inclined to dance in public, that's cool, don't let the music inside of you die down though.

And if you can't help it, by all means.

At Ease

Stoked