Sunday 10 March 2013

May I Have This Dance?


I love dancing, from a young age I was always dancing through the house making up my own dances. I took ballet for eight years and absolutely loved it! Since then I have had to give up ballet in favour of netball but still love dancing; I hear random beats or music in my head and I’ll just be dancing in the middle of nowhere while talking to someone. No judging, I’m a unique child. Often when I am feeling really romantic I put on slow romantic music, such as Taylor Swift’s ‘Tim McGraw’, and slow dance with myself in my room. Again, no judging, I’m single so I have no one to slow dance with if my Dad’s not around – and I am not sure he would want to slow dance to Taylor Swift after watching ‘A Walk To Remember.’ Anyway, I love slow dancing but have no partner; that is the important bit.

I want to focus on two pictures that have meant so much to me this year; one is the idea of ‘Dancing Backwards into the Future’ which I got from my sister’s best friend, and the idea of dancing with Jesus, which I got from a young mum at church.

‘Dancing Backwards into the Future’ is the idea of being lead by God into the future. When you partner dance, the girl dances backwards as the boy leads. The girl cannot see where she is going, she can only focus on the handsome (hopefully) boy in front of her who is guiding her so that she does not crash into anyone. He leads her step for step. This is what life with Jesus is like; He leads us into our future, He can see where we are headed when we cannot, He leads us step for step and will never step on our toes. All that we have to do is keep our eyes on him and enjoy the dance.

The idea of dancing with Jesus is a literal, physical thing. When I am feeling lonely, when I feel as though no one loves me, or when I wish I had a boyfriend, I dance with Jesus. Because, let’s face it, we all have those days when, no matter how secure we are in ourselves or how content we are being single, we wish we had a dance partner. Well, I have learnt from a young mum at church in those times, to dance with Jesus instead of looking for someone else to dance with. That is when I put on my music and I begin to waltz, pretending I have someone guiding me while I talk to Jesus. I literally dance with Jesus. I can honestly tell you that it works, you feel loved and cherished.

So, in a literal sense, and in a spiritual sense, I try to dance with Jesus as often as I can. I try to spiritually dance with Jesus non-stop, that he is guiding me through my daily life and I physically dance with Jesus whenever I feel lonely or romantic. The great thing about dancing with Jesus is that whole thing of ‘I wish this song would never end and I could dance with you forever…’ is true, it is actually possible. The Song of Salvation never ends, once you accept Jesus’ invitation to dance He dances with you forever. He is the best dance partner, He is gracious, He is gentle, and He is loving and protective of you. I have never seen Him but I can imagine that He is the most handsome possible dance partner ever. Plus, having Him as your dance partner sets your standards high, so you will not settle for just any dance partner, you will only say yes to your Prince.

That is my short-ish blog for now, I have another idea that I will write up soon. I am thinking of writing one about True Friendship (Don’t fret, I will think of a more creative name) and one on Prince Charming (Once again, the name will be less cliché). So for now, good bye and thank you for leaving a comment on my previous post anonymous, you made my day. J So with that, good day, I love you all! xxx

Wednesday 2 January 2013

Time to say hello to goodbye.

As 2012 ends and 2013 begins, we enter our annual short-lived 'can-do' season. We begin to see the faults in the theatre company we call 'The World' and the flaws in the characters we are playing, and we decide that this year we are going to fix everything. But we blindly fall into this trap every year. This is not going to be one of those empty New Year's posts about how I plan to loose weight, be successful and be a better person or an anti-New Year's post. Instead, I would like to look at saying hello to goodbye.

I have had my fair share of goodbyes in life, so much so that I hate saying hello in fear of goodbye. It does not stop me from saying hello though, nor from crying when goodbye comes. But alas, the annual goodbye to the good times and bad has come and it has made me think of what to do with last year now that I am standing in a new one.

Throughout last year God kept reminding me not to look back, to keep my eyes focused on the road ahead of me, even if I cannot see the finish line. Me mother was often reminding me also to 'Run your lane my Poppie.' I realised a while ago during a wonderful run on the beach that in order to do both these things, I had to stop comparing today to yesterday. Coming into this year I realised that not looking back and running my lane meant not planning this year according to last year and not comparing them either. Ever.

I do not mean to forget last year entirely, to do so would be foolish. We must learn from last year's mistakes, enjoy the memories of the good times - they will be our fuel in the tough times - and grow from last year's challenges. My "Word For You Today" echoed this idea when it spoke about letting go of last year's grudges and sins and moving forward in peace, happiness and right-standing with God. So that is my challenge for 2013; not to look back but to run forward in peace, happiness and right-standing with God. But I do not want it to be like the stereotypical New Year's Resolutions that only last three weeks; this is my day-to-day resolution as I say hello to saying goodbye once again.

Walking into 2013 I plan to be at peace, happy, be right with God, work hard in chasing my dream instead of waiting for it on a silver platter, and to not daydream. The last one is already proving a challenge... And, of course, to actually remember about my blog...

Happy New Year everyone! Remember to forget about the negative events of last year, cherish the precious times, remember those past, embrace those here and be excited for those coming this year. As we walk into a new year, remember to smile frequently and laugh easily, cry when necessary and love unconditionally. Don't look back at last year, keep your eyes set on the path ahead and the One who is leading you down it. I pray that 2013 will bring you all joy and blessings, bond old friendships and bring new ones. Looking forward to 2013 with all you beautiful people! ♥

So, if you are reading this, and I can see if someone has been here, please let me know what your New Year's Resolutions are, I would love to hear from someone other than my devoted family who have to comment or face my wrath. You can drop one as 'Anonymous' or create an alias. If  my sister can do it so anyone can!

Oh, I have totally revamped my blog for 2013, new metaphor and all! Here goes to running the Race in my lane in 2013!