DON’T WAIT TO BE FREE TO DANCE

I am in Livingston, Tennessee this weekend. This is my hometown and even though I haven’t lived here over 20 years, I still consider it home. My granddaughter, Matti, had a ballet recital on Saturday and I wanted to come and watch her perform. I came in last year and was so moved by watching her. She is just 8 years old but she is so graceful and elegant when she dances. You can just see the joy on her face, it touches your soul to watch.

It reminded me of a story my sister told me. Several years ago, she was asked to go on a mission trip to India. While she loved the people going, and the ministry she’d be visiting, she was SCARED to death. She was afraid of flying, afraid of being away from her family, afraid, afraid, afraid. Leading up to the departure, the folks on the team met weekly with women of the church for prayer. My sister told the other people going, “I want to be free from fear like those older women who dance to the worship music. They don’t care who is watching, they are just joyful!”

A few weeks later, she swallowed her fear and made the trip. On the second night there, the home for children that they were visiting called everyone together for praise and prayer. The leader told the kids that if they had a word from the Lord for anyone, to share. A sweet boy of about 14 pointed at my sister. He didn’t even know her name but he felt like the Lord had given him something to say. He turned to her and said,

“I saw a woman screaming in fear. The Lord said, “Don’t wait to be free to dance. Dance to be free.”

My sister was blown away! And while fear is still something she struggles with at times, it doesn’t have the same hold on her that it used to.

So, what are you waiting to be free to do? Maybe it’s the “doing” that will set you free, not the other way around.

Have a Blessed Day!