I don't enjoy dancing....if I'm the one flitting about.  And while I'm Baptist, that's really not the reason I'm no dancer.  I'm a passionate person, but the only place I ever move and shake is on the inside.  I love music.  And I love watching some kinds of dancing.  One of the most exhilarating experiences of my life was seeing Lord of the Dance being performed.

 

Equally captivating are the times I have watched my children dance. The Sunday Jason was voted in as pastor here at Nederland FBC, Rylie danced a John Travolta signature disco move to one of the choir specials.  If I can be so bold to say, it seemed worshipful. 

My children haven't spectacular rhythm or a snappy beat, but they're soul-filled.  They get their passion from their mama. -Maybe a little from their father too. Hayden in his heart overflowing has asked me to dance at several weddings though neither of us know how.  And even Hallie, our serious one, has been caught catching a beat on a few occasions.

Rylie in particular expresses herself through dance.  She has moves that have yet to be invented.  And there's one place where she is always struck by the notion to dance; at the movies.

It makes sense.    You've watched an inspiring plot unfold on the big screen.  And then comes the music.... It's loud and beautiful. They save the best song for last.  That song that plays during the credits.... is an invitation to take up where the movie leaves off.  I believe the "credit song" is a time for response.

For Rylie that response is always to dance.  With reckless abandon.  In the front of the theater.

I had no intention of letting her do that.  She can dance on the inside, like I do.  But Jason is much better about not worrying about appearances. During the credits of a movie, one time, he let her go down to the front of the theater after the crowd had dissipated. Really, her dancing and flailing about in the narrow aisle was actually quite dangerous. So she danced beneath the rolling credits.

She has danced like this in response to every movie since then. 

 I've had to get over my fear of what the lingering audience is thinking.

She dances like nobody's watching.  Are there spectators who think she dances offbeat; that she's a show off?  Quite possibly.

I remember vaguely getting  Wonder Woman underoos (anybody remember those pajamas?) when I was about five.  I was giddy to have them; so much so that my response to having them was to parade (dance) in the living room for my mom and dad.  It was a wild dance whose grand finale ended with my head making contact with the corner of the television.

When did I decide not to respond to the music?

Was it getting hurt?

The fear of being misunderstood?

Or rejected.

I know I misstep.

Do I still hear the music?

Or am I too busy?

Like Rylie, I have a father who beckons me to the music.

The music is always there.

What's missing is, too often, my response.

 

 Hayden before his Valentine dance at School

Hallie-Dancing with reservation

A Wedding Dance

 

 

 

 I'd love to hear from you kristiburden@gmail.com