“Then David danced with all his might before the Lord. He had on a holy linen vest. David and all the Israelites shouted with joy and blew trumpets as they brought the Ark of the Lord to the city.” 2 Samuel 6:14-15
If you know me very well then you know I love beautiful art; the sound of fingers sliding across guitar strings; lyrics that make my heart sing, smile, cry, etc. and old movies. In my next life I want to dance! In other words, I can be emotional and I often wear my heart on my sleeve. Things touch me, what can I say!
I only mention these things because I am going to share today from a book that touched my spiritual journey. The book is entitled, “The Divine Embrace”, by Ken Gire. He is a favorite author of mine because over the years, several times, I have gone in a bookstore not knowing what I needed and the Lord unmistakably directed me to one of his books.
This particular book likens our spiritual journey to a dance, a dance with our Lord. I fell in love with the analogy when I read the following excerpt. “The Lord of the dance doesn’t want us worrying about our feet. He doesn’t want us wondering about the steps ahead. He merely wants us to feel the music, fall into his arms, and follow his lead.” Take a minute just to imagine it; dancing with our Lord!
It continues: “There are places he wants to take us on the dance floor, things he wants to show us, feelings he wants to share with us, words he wants to whisper in our ear. This is what the divine embrace is –an invitation to a more intimate relationship with Christ, one exhilarating, ennobling, uncertain step at a time. We have a choice, you and I. And it’s a choice we make every day, throughout the day. The choice is this: We can dance. Or we can sit it out.”
Ken Gire goes on to talk about stepping on Jesus’ toes, or bumping into others on the floor, or making fools of ourselves. He discusses how we let our fears keep us off the dance floor and end up missing the dance. He then says, “There are two things I have learned from the divine embrace. That perfect love really does cast out fear. And that I would rather dance poorly with Jesus than sit perfectly with anyone else.” Oh my.
If you have followed along in my spiritual journey, you have seen me step out of my comfort zone many times. I have done so when I have been asked to dance! Each time I can honestly say I have ended up in His divine embrace. It was very difficult to begin sharing my personal spiritual journal, and then building this website to write these spiritual blog posts. I don’t know how many people really read and follow along. I have had to learn over and over that it is not mine to know. It is not about me, but about Him. Even so, I can honestly say no matter what pain, what cost; no matter what He has called me to do, I wouldn’t have missed the dance. And yes, I have stepped on His toes!
In closing, I would like to share one more excerpt. “… along the way we are given glimpses of the one we now love only from afar. Something happens to us in those moments. A shift in focus. … When we see Jesus, however briefly, however indistinctly, our hearts begin to ache. In that moment and because of that moment, we love him more, at least we long to. It is in those moments that we discover where the Lord of the Dance has been leading us all along –into a deeper love for him. … Jesus leads us in a dance that moves around his Father’s heart, in ever tighter circles, until at last we are so close to the love that is at the center of the universe that we feel it, every throbbing beat of it. And when that happens, the beating of his heart and the beating of ours become one.”
Hence, my “Journey Through The Stillness” and Martha’s Orbit and Orbital Buzz. And, I am still dancing! Everyone of us is invited to the dance. Do not let fear stop you from stepping out onto the floor with the Lord of The Dance as your partner. You will not be disappointed.
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