Overcoming Through Dance

Recently I was the guest on a blog that was all about overcoming. Ultimately, we overcome through God. But along the way, there are many methods for overcoming adversity in life. One way that has meant so much to me has been dance. Dance is often seen as a metaphor for life: for the willingness to step beyond yourself, to embrace the wonder about you, to move in harmony with the universe. As joy and celebration build within, they require an outlet. And so, our hands and feet begin to move, our bodies begin to sing and flow, releasing emotions from our hearts and culminating in dance. Even releasing the heavenlies deep within through our fingertips and toes.

But what if you don’t feel that joy? What if life has beaten you down? Dance is at its core, a form of communication. You can dance your pain, your prayer, and as the music begins to overtake you, you begin to find that joy. Or you can employee the regular old, boogie-on-down kind of dancing to help you dance your blues away.

Exercise itself is a great way to chase away depression. When I’m feeling down, if I turn on a dance workout video and shake and shimmy along with the instructor, before long it’s hard to keep a smile my your face. Oxygen and endorphins alone will do that to a person, but add in some happy music and joyous expression, and you’ll have a hard time holding onto your doldrums.

Now what if we top that off with some praise and worship? Wow! Anytime we offer our praise and worship as an offering, the joy is sure to come. David danced before the Lord with all his might, and God was well pleased. Even Jesus spoke of his frustration with the generation around him by saying in Matthew 11, "We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge and you did not mourn.” Yet how often do we stifle this wondrous outlet?

Most churches today that incorporate contemporary choruses sing songs about dance. “Dance with me, oh lover of my soul.” "Dancers who dance upon injustice.” “We will dance on the streets that are golden.” “Dancing with my Father God in fields of grace.” The list goes on and on, but do we take it seriously, or do we stand still and sing the words, hampering our bodies from becoming living, breathing expressions of praise. Romans 12:1 instructs, "Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship." Of course this scripture has many applications, but I like to take it quite literally.

In my new historical romance, Love in Three-Quarter Time, my heroine is a dancer. Dance is one of her few sources of joy in life. Yet because of wounds from her past, she represses her true passionate nature and restricts herself to formulaic ballet and polite ballroom dances. It isn’t until she lets herself dance wild and free before a bonfire that she finally feels the full love and acceptance of her creator. In a way, her story is mine as well. In dance, I’ve found both my true self and a way to truly connect to God.

So I urge you to offer up your bodies as living sacrifices of praise. Embrace and enjoy the wonder of dance. Take time to relate with God through this amazing form of expression today. Discover the joy and overcoming power available through dance.

Let God Lead Your Dance

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When I first sat down to write Love in Three-Quarter Time, I figured that since the book was about the waltz, the perfect spiritual theme would be “let God lead your dance.” My heroine, Constance Cavendish, had spent her youth as a Scarlet O’Hara type character, selfish and headstrong, yet with an admirable strength and passion. After tragedy struck her family when she was sixteen, she blamed herself and determined to tame her passionate nature and somehow earn God’s forgiveness.

Of course, I hope my reader will understand that none of us can earn our way to forgiveness, but if not, they can take that journey along with Constance. Constance needs to learn that God created her passionate, fiery nature. Her goal should not be to repress it, but rather to submit it to God. To let Him lead her life much like a dance, following with His gentle tugs and sways. I chose as a theme verse for this book, “Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day,” from Psalm 25:5.

And as I started this book, I assumed I would keep the spiritual theme focused and simple, but books, and life, never really turn out that way. First, to get to this theme, Constance had to learn about one of my all-time favorite spiritual themes, the importance of an intimate relationship with Christ. One cannot stay in tune with God and follow His rhythms for one’s life without that intimate connection. Constance had to learn to see God from a new perspective. She needed to immerse herself in God’s word and in prayer, and she needed to learn to hear His voice.

As she discovered intimacy with Christ and learned to let God lead her dance, she also began to discover freedom in Christ. Yet another theme I love. In fact, my personal life and writing theme verse is, “Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly.” See how nicely letting God teach you His rhythms flows into freedom in that verse. And since a subplot of the book concerns the abolitionist movement, guess what? Freedom became a theme in the book as well. Both Constance and her hero needed God’s freedom in their lives. Particularly freedom from the mistakes of their past.

And how does one get free from the mistakes of one’s past? More often than not, by facing the truth. By learning God’s perspective on the truth to replace the lies of Satan for starters, but also by dealing with the truth, revealing our secrets, and making amends. Both my hero and my heroine were held in bondage by secrets from their pasts. So, before I knew it, truth became a theme in the book as well. The truth shall set you free and all that.

By this time, my "simple little historical romance" had almost as many themes as my epic historical saga! And I swear, I didn’t even do it on purpose.  But no issue exists in a vacuum. Our spiritual journeys contain many facets. And I think this journey develops in an organic way. The fact is, my "simple little historical romance" ended up with more of a spiritual focus than I ever expected. It became a love story with Jesus as much as anything else, and I couldn’t be more pleased.

Here is a lovely example of a contemporary waltz for your viewing pleasure. Imagine yourself dancing in the arms of Jesus.

Which of these themes interests you the most? Have you learned to let God lead your dance? If so, what advice do you have on the subject? I'd love to hear your thoughts on freedom and truth as well.