Slow dancing is awkward.
I mean, it is for me because I have no idea how to do it. Every guy I have attempted slow dancing with has not known how either. So for 3-4 minutes depending how long the song is, we just shuffled around the floor, trying to act like we knew what we were doing, stepping on toes, bumping into people, and awkwardly laughing.
The problem was there was no leader. I would try to lead when that really wasn’t my job. Take any sort of dancing class or just look up ballroom dancing and you know the man is who you follow. Oops.
Dancing with someone takes a huge amount of trust. You have to trust they know what they are doing and you have to trust they are not going to run you into someone or step on your feet. When dancing with these guys I tried to lead. I thought I could do it better. I thought I could listen to the music and know when to move. I looked down at my feet because I was uncomfortable looking into someone’s eyes for that long, but then we would get out of step and run into people.
It comes down to trust: I didn’t trust them to lead me.
There is a song I recently heare about Jesus dancing with us. He wrote the song of our lives. It only makes sense he wants to be there with us as the song plays out. I was intrigued by this idea of ballroom dancing so I looked up how to be a good follower.
First thing you need to have a good dance is you need a good connection with your partner. You need to be holding onto each other, your arms tight and firm. If you have noodle arms, the connection will be weaker. So create that good connection. We need to hold tight to God, keep spending time together and learning about his character. Never let the connection get weak.
The next step is wait. I kid you not this is what it said! Your leader is the one who starts the steps. He makes the decisions for when you move and what step you do. Your job is simply trust he knows what he is doing. Jesus knows the dance and he wrote the song, we have to wait for him to take the steps. When he steps, that is when we follow him. If we step first because we think the that is what the music is telling us, we step on someone’s toes. When we don’t trust where he is guiding us, we take our eyes off him, look at our feet and get out of rhythm.
Proverbs 16:9
The heart of man plans his way,
but the Lord establishes his steps.
This race is a season of first’s. I realized how hard it is to trust God in situations where I am helpless. I am still learning to fully rely on him for my needs, it is something I have never done before. It is stretching me. And it continues in Month 4 where I will be stepping into a leadership role. Being asked to step up into leadership caught me off guard. Even though I have felt God wanted me to step into that and grow, it is something I have been ignoring. As soon as I agreed I was attacked by doubt. I can’t lead this team. Look at everything God is still trying to teach me. I can’t point them to Christ. I don’t have all the answers! I need to be in charge of getting us to the Philippines!? What happens to team leaders when they break down? I was stressed about team dynamics and my new responsibilities. But God calmed me down. As always. Only this time he did it through a song.
You steady me
Slow and sweet, we sway
Take the lead and I will follow
Finally ready now
To close my eyes and just believe
That You won’t lead me
Where You don’t go
When my faith gets tired
And my hope seems lost
You spin me round and round
And remind me of that song
The one You wrote for me
And we dance
How true are those words. He is leading me where he wants us. I don’t have to be a perfect leader, but because I follow a perfect God I am able to lead. He is not going to lead us to anywhere he is not. We are staying in his will. God was and will continue guiding this team where He wants us to go. I can’t do this on my own. I just need to be obedient and follow.
I need to follow this beautiful dance he has made for my life.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=fFfw6OSbUwE
