......................doing the Cha-Cha
I came across a clever
quip recently. It reads, “Optimist: someone who figures that taking a step
backward after taking a step forward is not a disaster, it's a cha cha.” (by
Robert Brault, writer) I loved this idea.
This month I become an
official senior citizen. If there's one thing I have learned through the years,
it's that you can't cry over spilled milk. We all make mistakes. I've made some
doozies. Of course we are sorry when we lose our tempers, dent the car, overspend,
or make major poor life decisions. We can feel the sting of our mistakes and backsliding We may even suffer their consequences and ask for grace to do
better next time. Then, however, its probably best to move forward and get back
in the game. The best solution is not to wallow in self-pity or self-contempt.
Rather it is to continue on, understanding that relapse is part of the process
of recovery or “sanctification.”
The concept of the cha-cha
presented earlier in this writing may be more spiritual than it appears. I
believe the Lord wired us to dance. It is part of our joyful childlike nature.
There are many references to dance in the Bible. It can be used to express our
gratitude toward and praise of the Lord. There is a song titled, “Lord of the
Dance” by Sydney Carter. It pictures Jesus as our leader in the dance of life.
My husband and I took a
few ballroom dance lessons at one point in our lives. I learned some great life
lessons. One of the things our instructor kept emphasizing was that my husband
was to take the lead. I needed to follow him willingly and graciously. It was
my responsibility to allow him to lead. What a difficult but valuable lesson
for daily life in my marriage relationship. Our dance teacher advised my
husband to be aware of the other couples dancing in the room. He needed to be
sensitive to them and to flow with them. In this way he would not collide with
them or impede their progress. I thought this was a good word for the body of
Christ. We are all one unit. We need to cooperate with one another and to move
together toward one purpose.
(Name of graphic..."GOD - YOU - AND - I - DANCE"
Creator is God...Human creator of graphic is unknown.)
Even though we pray and
fix our hearts on the Word of God, we may still be guilty of some faux pas.
Being tired, over stressed and merely human can cause us to fall into
indiscretions. But let us be like Paul who said...
“Forgetting what is behind and
straining toward what is ahead,
I press on toward the goal to win the prize for
which God
has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”
(Philippians 3:13, 14)
Let
us rejoice always in all things, even after a so called “failure.”
“For the joy
of the Lord is your strength.”
(Nehemiah 8:10)
The more joy we have, the better
we can serve the Lord and others. Let us take joy in this dance called life.
Then we can trust the Lord to weave even our mistakes and regressions into His
marvelous plan.
By Cathy Friberg
