For as long as I can remember, I have loved to dance!
In a studio, on a stage, in a sanctuary, outside, my living room…it hasn’t ever really mattered.
Three weeks ago I decided to step back into a studio and start dancing with a class again after 10+ years away. It was incredibly familiar, even though I was learning new steps, culture, and form. The joy and the language of dance remained the same.
My body has started to wake up again and it’s like a breath of fresh air…in many ways.
For the past 7 years, pain has plagued my body and consumed my mind. There was still joy, but it has felt very different. It was a season in finding joy in sorrow, pain, and tears.
Now I feel like I’m waking up and that joy is feeling a little more familiar with each day. But this time it is a joy of living life fully in the blessings!
I love John 10:10, as it says, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” (NRSV)
For so long that thief has hit hard and he will continue to seek to steal, kill, and destroy my joy. Jesus spells that out for us. But I know He is greater than that theif and came so that all could have life in great abundance, no matter the season of life!
With each season, change comes; with each dance class, change comes.
I have most certainly changed in the past 10+ years. I’m not the same person I was before Lyme disease and that is good. I’m learning to embrace and celebrate this good thing. With dance, I’m learning Irish instead of ballet and it is also good and a reason to celebrate. (And if you know anything about Irish Dance, it’s always a celebration!)
The steps in class and in life are different these days, but the journey is a familiar one and the same Christ walks with me each day! Find joy in your journey this day!
JoyfullyDancingDaughter 