Category Archives: Learning from our past

C’mon and dance with me!

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Nate and I didn’t know how to dance. The first reason was that he struggled to find any sense of rhythm or beat. When he was in the Army, I remember attending a parade demonstration at Fort Knox, Kentucky. Hundreds of uniformed soldiers passed in front of us, marching in perfect step to the leader’s cadence…. except one. Despite all those soldiers wearing identical clothes, I found Nate immediately.

The second reason we were dance-ignorant was that I was raised to believe dancing was wrong. I had to sign a statement when I became a 16 year old member of my church, promising not to dance (among other things). Later when I chose a conservative Christian college, I signed a similar pledge.

Throughout my childhood, I wasn’t allowed to attend dance classes or school dances, nor could I listen to dance music. It mystified me, since Mom was adventuresome and loved music herself.

Then one day, while I was jumping around to “oldies” music at home, the real truth came out. Mom was watching me cavort to the beat and said, “It’s too bad we don’t believe in dancing. You’d be good at it.”

I realized then that all the no-dancing rules were just that: written rules she was trying to obey on the outside while on the inside she’d been dancing all those years. Though the policy didn’t change, figuring that out made me feel a lot better.

The bottom line was that neither Nate nor I ever learned to dance, not even after we decided it wasn’t really wrong. But we did learn to fake it enough to shuffle around a wedding reception dance floor, at least on the slower tunes.

All of us can get caught up in the letter of a law and then miss the spirit of it. That’s  a serious offense, as Jesus pointed out to the biblical Pharisees. Their 600 rigid religious laws had strayed far from what God had intended when he gave the 10 commandments. So Jesus straightened it out with 2 new commands that swept away all the pharisaical add-ons. “Love God, and love others.”

Those aren’t always easy to do, but they’re easy to understand. And if we put all our actions through that grid, the result will be lives lived in the gracious spirit of the law.

These days I still don’t know how to dance, but a year ago, my cousin Calvin and I decided to try our luck at jitterbugging. Jumping around a wedding reception dance floor in no particular pattern might not have been real dancing, but for the two of us non-dancers, it turned out to be an awful lot of fun.

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:37-40)

Good to Go

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Yesterday while babysitting Emerald, I thought she might like a quick trip to the beach. The weather was perfect, and a short stroller walk there would add to our fun.

Grandson Micah

Normally I take a well-stocked backpack to the beach, but this trip I wouldn’t need those adult things. Instead I opted for a smaller tote just Emerald-sized. Gathering #50 SPF lotion and a clean towel, I figured we were, as grandson Micah says, “good-to-go.”

Emerald's suit

But then I wondered if Emerald might want to get wet and went back for her swimming suit. Together we rummaged through drawers till we found it, along with a sun hat, which I would have forgotten. And where was her beach cover-up?

Reaching toward the back of the closet with Emerald in my other arm, I found it, price tags still hanging from the sleeve. I passed her changing table in my search for a scissors and realized I’d almost forgotten to pack a spare diaper. Wipes, too, just in case.

Then while dressing her, it occurred to me I should probably bring something for her to drink. As Emerald began to feel heavy in my arms, we thawed some milk in hot water and made a bottle.

Just before we left, I decided to change her diaper and found it poopy, though I couldn’t find the wipes (which of course were in the beach bag). So, picking her up diaper-less while trying not to spread her mess, we retrieved them and finished the job, remembering to repack the wipes. Now we were definitely good-to-go.

But oops, I’d almost forgotten her beloved pacifier. Together we hunted, finding one on the floor (and washing it). But wait. I wanted to take my camera, so upstairs we went, baby, bag and me, on another hunt.

And finally….

Toys

….we headed for the door, but not before I decided to pack a few toys. Kneeling down with Emerald still in my arms, we chose her favorites from the basket, stuffing them into our now-plump, heavy bag. It had taken more time to prepare than we’d anticipated, so we swapped the stroller for the car and were, at long last, good-to-go.

I’m often caught unprepared, wondering why I didn’t think of this or that, or at least make a list. But one of my closest friends is Jesus Christ, and he’s just the opposite of me. He’s always prepared. As a matter of fact, he’s currently preparing something very special for me: a place in the hereafter. Sometimes when I’ve tried to prepare and failed, I think of the thorough job Jesus is doing, and I’m thankful it’s him and not me. Nothing will be forgotten, and my eternity will be glorious!

Beach party!

By the way, Emerald loved our beach excursion, but after 90 minutes she was hungry. Sadly, I’d forgotten the bottle on the kitchen counter.

The sad truth is, as hard as I try, I’ll probably never be completely “good-to-go”…. until, that is, it’s time for heaven.

Jesus said, “I am going to prepare a place for you.” (John 14:2)

 

Crawling Along

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Emerald at 8 monthsEight month old Emerald has accomplished a great deal in her short life, learning to recognize people, communicate in different ways, speak her first word (ma-ma), sit up, shake musical instruments, and eat solids. Since she’s checking off her milestones in the usual order, her next accomplishment will be crawling.

Already she does “the bridge,” a hands-and-knees crawling-lookalike, but so far it’s gone nowhere, though that’s not to say she doesn’t move. She’s perfected the belly-swivel and can do a 360 spin with excellence.

I remember when my firstborn was 8 months and was stuck in one spot just as Emerald is now. I figured he was frustrated and decided to teach him to crawl. Every day I worked with him on the carpet, moving his arms and legs in left-right crawling positions, showing him how.

Crawling!

As I continued tutoring him (which resembled a strange type of physical therapy), he’d often plop chin-first onto the rug, unable to coordinate his 4 limbs. Several weeks later, when he began to crawling for real, I beamed with pride at my young student, patting myself on the back for his success.

No one told me he would have crawled on his own, had I never worked with him. An experienced parent would have known that, and as my other 6 children came along and crawled by themselves, I learned it too. God is the One who programmed babies to crawl and later walk, wonderful gifts, but that doesn’t mean the process is easy for them. Each one has to develop persistence, working hard at it day after day, falling and failing again and again.

Our heavenly Parent does something similar with us. He saves our souls and then lets us work at becoming Christ-like. Unlike learning to crawl or walk, this isn’t a task that can be successfully checked off a list. It’s an effort that lasts a lifetime.

But just as God programs children to crawl and walk, he programs us with something, too. The 17th century philosopher Pascal called it “a God-shaped vacuum in the heart of every man” that can only be filled by Christ. And that’s what’s drawing us when we begin a relationship with Jesus. We find ourselves desiring to become more like him. But just as a baby struggles to crawl and walk, we must persist in our efforts to walk in righteousness. When we do, God is pleased.

Pre-crawling

As for Emerald and her non-crawling, we’ve found the solution: to encircle her with toys so that as she swivels, she always has something fun to do. One of these days, though, she’ll crawl right out of that circle…. because that’s what God programmed her to do.

“Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.” (Philippians 2:12-13)