Learning to Dance, Together

A friend of mine asked several weeks ago, if M & I dance all the time. The short answer to that is no, not nearly as much as either of us would like. But we danced today. We turned on the music, and M twirled me around. It had been awhile, though, since my lessons, so I didn’t remember the steps. I was left hopelessly trying to follow his lead without any idea which direction I was supposed to be heading. And wow, I had fun, dizzying fun. As far as dancing, though, it was a pretty pitiful performance. All we could do was laugh.

Tomorrow marks five months with M, a milestone worth celebrating for both of us. These months have been a journey, a journey of two individuals who are used to dancing to their own music and doing their own thing, trying to figure out what it means to learn to step together, in sync with each other. There have been dizzying fun moments and some pretty pitiful ones too. But it has been such a worthwhile journey and one that God has used for good in both of our lives. It has been amazing to discover some of the calling that God has on his life, a willingness to be in the tough places, to do work that matters, and to do it well. It has been freeing to be able to share the work that is important to me, the things that matter, and the ministry that God has called me to. And it has been exciting to consider the ways that those may overlap and to see new possibilities, new music, emerge as God continues to write the story between us.

I thought when I started this blog series months ago, that I had all the posts figured out. I had a plan and had rehearsed all the steps. Sometimes, though, I have learned that you have to throw out all the plans and the steps you think you know, to stop and to listen to the music, to be present in the moment to see what God is saying & doing right then. He is at work. He created us for relationship, with Him and with each other. And when we stop and listen, we can see Him drawing us to Himself, teaching us what it means to love and to be loved. It’s a beautiful song. It’s not an easy one, though. It takes some hard work and practice.

We’ve been practicing. And slowly but surely, we’re learning to dance together.

~E