I hope you dance

And do not be grieved,
for the joy of the LORD is your strength.
Nehemiah 8:10b

I know nothing, except what everyone knows
—if there when Grace dances, I should dance.
~ W. H. AUDEN

When we heard there would be dancing at Amanda’s wedding, we drew in our breath just a little. Would we have to dance? Oh, my.

How long had it been since we’d danced?

Not counting break-out performances to crazy songs with our teenagers.
Or living room twirls with little girls as pretend ballerinas.

Not counting early dancing on trips as newly-marrieds.
And certainly not counting long, long ago proms where the white people took on the slow dances and the black people the fast ones.

Now it was time.
Again. To dance.

Life had been hard.
          Time had been short.
                    But joy was still alive.

And it asked us, “Can I have this dance?”

And we bravely answered, “Most certainly!”

So we did the electric slide and some in-your-arms sweet dancing.
And some of us did the Soul Train line.
(And others of us backed out and watched our husbands dance it instead.)

But next time…next time…we’ll even break loose on the Soul Train line.
(I promised Michelle we would.)

And you?

When you get the choice to sit it out or dance
I hope you dance

Choose joy.
It’s your strength.
I did.

And I’m so glad.

So I commend the enjoyment of life.
Ecclesiastes 8:15a (NIV)

* * *

At Bonnie’s we’re answering: Is Joy Easy or Hard For You?

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When’s the last time you danced?