Dance, Then…

“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

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 wear my heart on my sleeve.  Beautiful imagery, whether words, music, or art, can deeply touch me.

I mention these things because I am going to share about a book filled with just such beautiful, spiritual imagery.  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 into 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 moment to reflect, to imagine it; dancing with our Lord!

Continuing on, Gire says, “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.”

He 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.”  As I read this, all I could say was, “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.  The first and hardest dance was when I was asked to share my private, personal spiritual journal on facebook and then to begin writing this spiritual meditation website.  I see the names of those who have joined in order to follow along, but with the exception of those who leave comments or click like, I do not know who or how many literally view my journal on a regular basis.  It is not mine to know; God knows.  It is not about me, but about Him.  I can also 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 many times.

I would like to share one more excerpt from Gire’s beautiful book:  “… 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 Orbital Buzz Website, and my facebook page entitled Catholic Orbit.  And, I am still dancing in His divine embrace…

“Dance, then, wherever you may be;
I am the Lord of the Dance, said he.
And I’ll lead you all wherever you may be,
And I’ll lead you all in the dance, said he.”
(Hymn: Lord Of The Dance)

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