Monday, August 18, 2014

Dance With Me

Yesterday as I stood in line with some friends at full tilt, waiting for an ice cream cone when I realized something important.

There was a guy ahead of us that was dancing THE WHOLE time we were in line. It was some version of pop and lock, very precise movements that almost make it seem like an optical illusion and he seemed to be using his girlfriend standing in front of him as a prop. (She seemed to be un-phased, not sure if it was because this wasn’t abnormal activity for this man or if she just couldn’t see him).

Anyways, we stood there transfixed. We started talking about his talent and how good he was at what he does. But then it became clear, dancing is not what this man does, it is who he is. He dances in ice cream shops and waiting at bus stops, probably in grocery stores and in his room not because he’s practicing, but because dancing is breathing.

Similarly I thought back to the sermon I heard earlier that evening. “ God is in the business of restoration.” It was a phrase that had stuck with me. And as drawn as I was to it initially, witnessing this man dance made me re-think the statement. God is NOT in the business of restoration because then it seems to allude that restoration is something God does, a job he has, something he’s just really good at. No…restoration is God’s character, it is who he is.

In that moment where I stood in the overly crowded, muggy little roomed that smelled of fresh waffle cones, I felt so comforted. 

If you read my last blog you know my dating life isn’t going all too smoothly. My body aches from loneliness…yearns to be touched, but even more than physicality, it longs to be cared for. I cringe when I think of previous relationships  (especially this most recent one) how he might think of me, how I think of myself, what I could have done better. And then I cringe when I think of future relationships, possible heartache and probable mess ups.

But then the smell of sweet waffle cones flood my senses and I remember that I am being restored. Not because I asked to be but because by believing in God I also believe in the process of restoration. He is not restoring me as some act of kindness or obligatory job, He restores me because he can’t help it, it is simply who He is.

His dance is one of grace and hope and peace…and he dances everywhere he goes.

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