Family Favorites Week
April 12, 2009
The saying is that time goes by fast when you’re having fun, and I’ve been reminded of that here lately. Believe it or not, it’s been six months since I first started this blog. Seems longer than that in some respects. I feel like I’ve known some of you for a lot longer than that. But it sometimes seems so much shorter than that, too.
I’ve posted 159 blog entries since then, which I figure amounts to two or three books (a good thing to keep in mind if my other two don’t get taken soon.) In honor of making it this far, I’ve decided to give myself what amounts to a little vacation. So this week’s theme is going to be Family Favorites, courtesy of my wife and children, who took the time to go through all of my posts, pick the three they like best, and offer a little polishing.
Since a lot of you are new to these parts, chances are what you’ll read this week won’t be reruns. And for those who’ve managed to stick with me from the beginning, I hope these will still move you as much as they did the first time around.
Regardless, please know that each of you make my day, every day. I love you stopping here and sharing your own wisdom, and I love visiting your blogs. Here’s to six more months (at least!!).
The Dance
Here I am, huddled together with four other men in a corner of an elementary school gym. We are all in the same predicament, though we are all too insecure to admit it. So we talk sports and trucks and the year’s corn crop and anything else with masculine connotations, if only to take our minds off where we are:
A ballet recital.
My six-year-old, Molly, has been taking ballet lessons for six weeks now. And as tonight is the final performance, the culmination of all that study and work, my presence is required. Thankfully, other fathers of other six-year-olds have been similarly persuaded. I have company. Company is a good thing to have when you’re where you’d rather not be.
Within our conversation of the new Fords and the dry spell, I watch Molly. She twirls and steps and trips and repeats. And she laughs.
(”I love the dance, Daddy,” she has told me often. “I think God loves the dance, too.”)
Another twirl and step, but two trips this time. Molly turns, looks at my wife, and wiggles a finger–come here, Mommy. The two meet in the middle of the basketball court, and I know what’s wrong. I excuse myself from the group and join them.
“My sugar’s messy,” Molly says. We retreat to the stands for her glucometer. Her diabetes doctor says that her sugar should be between one hundred and one-fifty. After a prick of a finger, the readout says “389.”
“We should go home,” I say.
“We can’t,” my daughter pleads. “It’s not over.” She looks back to her teacher and her classmates, still struggling through their routine. “God wants us all to dance until the dance is done.”
Both look to me. I have the final decision. Yes, we should go. Go and get a bottle of water and a blanket and climb up on the sofa and rest. But according to Molly, God wanted her to dance. And who am I to argue with God?
Molly returns to her group, but I remain apart from mine. I am stand alone and watch, lost in this little girl, in her spirit and her joy. She dances in spite of her disease. With her disease.
Our evening is over with one final bow, and upon leaving we are confronted in the parking lot by a sea of red and blue lights across the street. Sometime between the first foutette and the last pirouette, a horrible accident had occurred. A mangled white car, it’s top shorn, lay upside down in the median. Police, firemen, and rescue personnel scramble in choreographed chaos. A medical helicopter waits, blades churning, an angel of metal and wires, death and life.
My family stands silent.
“God bless the wrecked people,” murmurs my son. We all join him, holding hands.
My wife and I exchange a glance when our eyes open. Our town is small, the identity of the injured likely an acquaintance. Coming from the school, perhaps. Football practice. A child? One of my wife’s students?”
How can I live with this fear?” I whisper to God.
Silence.
“How can I bask in Your light while standing in this shadow?”
The helicopter blades swoosh.
“How must life be lived
(”God wants us to dance until the dance is done,” Molly had said. “Because God loves the dance.”)
in the face of death?”
I look at my daughter, safe in the crook of my arm. She rests her head on my shoulder.
The suddenness of life presses into me. To be a parent or a spouse is to have your fears magnified. You have much, and so you have much to lose. So fragile is our existence in this world, so easily taken and taken for granted.
Yes, God loves the dance. And so should we. We should hear the music in this life, surrender to its rhythms. We should make its cadence our own. And we should always dance until the dance is done.
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38 Responses to “Family Favorites Week”
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I’m a writer whose first novel, Snow Day, will be published by FaithWords in 2010.
But don’t let that fool you. I’m just as confused as anyone.
And that is fine with me, because the great thing about wandering around in the fog is that you never know what you might run into.
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Beautiful piece of writing. I am a newbie and am so appreciative of you re-posting some of your better pieces so that I can enjoy them for the first time, and with beautiful writing like this I can well imagine that oldies won’t mind the repeats. I have always tried to dance to my own heartsong in this life, and I’ll keep right on dancing as long as my Heavenly Father allows me to, and when He finally calls me home I hope He’ll let me keep dancing on the other side!
Well said.
Beautiful story.
You are so talented Billy. That was awesome.
I can see why this is a family favorite – and I am SO glad you’re repeating some old ones. You brought me to tears with this piece. A message we all need to remember.
Wow…God knew I needed these words today – thanks
Oh, yay! I’ve been meaning to go through some of your earlier writings and this week will be a good start.
We are often so blissfully unaware that we live in a fallen world until that reality hits us where we live. Good stuff as always, Billy!
“Grab my button” (That’s what she said)
Feel free not to post this comment (Read – please do not post this comment.)
Wonderful! I’m looking forward to reading the other “Greatest Hits” this week.
I absolutely love your blog….but you already know that. :0)
Your daughter is so wise in her young years! You have done your children well by teaching them about God and such. I know He loves the dance….very much. He loves to direct and choreograph and clap and tap His foot to the music that is our lives. Great idea to bring back the top three family favs!
God bless you, my friend. I am so thankful to have found your blog….it’s a blessing every time I read it!
Becki
I saw you over at Annie’s and when I realized you were from The Valley, I thought I’d drop by. I, too, reside at the foot of the Blue Ridge in Pigsknuckle (aka The ‘Burg
This was a lovely post, by the way
Sorry, katdish. Couldn’t resist.
And thanks, Becki, for the kind compliments.
This is beyond beautiful. It’s so heartfelt. I really enjoy reading your post. You have such a gift from God when it comes to words.
Blessings to you and your family!!
Billy,
Absolutely beautiful post. Your daughter is simply precious, and wise beyond her years.
I am genuinely looking forward to this week’s “re-run” posts, as I began reading your blogpage not too long ago.
As well, this post reminded me of LeAnn Womak’s song “I Hope You Dance.”
Life is about dancing (living), even in the midst of our fears.
Blessings,
~Amy
This is beautiful. Beautiful, and so true. Thank you for posting it again!
That’s great how you related your daughter’s passion to dance with our short life. It’s a great reminder that we can make the most of everything when we have the Lord by our side, guiding our steps in every way. God bless. Your posts are inspiring!
HEY! Thanks for NOT posting my comment. I hope my husband doesn’t read this post. I get enough long, breathy sighs from him as it is — and not necessarily in a good way.
Oh, who am I kidding? He doesn’t even read my blog on a daily basis. Which I suppose is the blogging equivalent to random drug testing. You just never know when you’re gonna get busted.
Glad you hit the rewind button. Your blog “family” would also put this one into “Family Favorites Week.”
Having been in a pretty bad car accident, I can relate to this… it helps you put things in perspective right quick…
As you know, I am also new to your blog. This post literally took my breath away! What a gift you have, Billy.
“God wants us to dance until the dance is done,” Molly had said. “Because God loves the dance.
Tell Molly she has a gift, too.
)
katdish- What, I finally find someone I can play “That’s what she said” with, and I CAN’T brag about it? So unfair.
Beth- You’re right, she indeed does. And I’ll pass along to her your comment.
(”God wants us to dance until the dance is done,” Molly had said. “Because God loves the dance.”)
This is precious.
Life changing.
Nicely said, Billy! Great post.
“God wants us to dance until the dance is done.” I love that.
It seems as life has been speeding by of late and I spent weeks on hiatus, I wasn’t really doing much dancing. I was more spinning around, looking at all that was going on around me – perhaps wondering who had changed the music. The dance was unfamiliar, I was clumsy and I don’t like feeling like that.
As I spent some great time in scripture last week, I could feel some rhythm returning and perhaps I just might dance this week! God bless you, Billy, for your well-timed re-run – His well-timed re-run.
It is so much fun to watch and read God using you!!!
Great post- glad you’re reposting so I can see some I may not have seen. I love how God uses any and everything to speak to us truth, we just have to be paying attention.
So thanks for paying attention!
Billy
I am thrilled to have found your blog a couple of weeks ago. You have that great gift of seeing the teachable moments, wrapping them in just the right words and passing them on as a gift to others.
God Bless You!
I can’t tell you how many times over the past 20 years of parenting, I’ve paused to consider my fear about the fragility of life…not mine, theirs. Most of my fears have been unfounded and comforted by the truth that the One who held them first and loves them best … the Author of the dance … has got them covered all the days of their lives. Me too.
I would have missed a great deal had my four not been my portion. They will be my perfection in the end; my joy in the now.
Blessings in your rest this week.
peace~elaine
But the dance is never really over when we partner with God…
I am glad that you are doing the reposting, because I am very new to your blog—and I’ll confess right now—I’m terrible about going through archives.
And 157 posts in 6 months? Man that’s a lot! Good for you.
This post brought me to tears…God likes to dance…indeed He does and He is the best partner ever.
Hey Billy, lovely to read about your daughter doing ballet. My daughter did it as well, from three years until eleven, when her teacher dropped off the face of the planet. (?)
I can so relate to your comment, ‘To be a parent or a spouse is to have your fears magnified. You have much, and so you have much to lose.’
When I was single, I did not really care what happened to me, but now, the weight of caring for a whole family, well, I’ve been doing some learning from the Lord about giving those burdens to Him.
Thanks for sharing this post.
Billy, THAT ws awesome….
Wow!
…Too many thoughts to post here.
I’ll just say that this was very timely today in light of events happening in our church family. Thanks for letting God use you and your precious family to touch your readers.
Elizabeth Stone says, “Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body.” I know where your coming from. With eight parts of my heart(and then some) walking around in the world, I have days where I wonder what I was thinking? If I can do this?
But I will “dance” until the “dance” is done because God loves the dance. Thank you for sharing what God shares with you.
God’s peace,
Lori
So very lovely.
Interesting you reposted this again. I was flipping through my old journals over the past couple days and found an entry about my husband and my daughter at dance. And I’ve also recently retold my experience last March when God spoke clearly to my heart about our dance together. This just adds more awe and wonder in my heart about how close and precious is the LOVE of our God. And yes, He loves the dance. I’ve heard the same word myself.
Thankful for your willingness to pen such intimate moments with us. They are life giving, they promote deeper thought and they point to God. Our Lead in life’s dance!
Bless you.
Tiffany
Yes, I remember now a post from Feb in my own blog called “Dancing with God”…so may comments have really conncected with this thought haven’t they? There are many ways to look at it too….
That was lovely! Very sweet…
I couldn’t help but picture my own 6 year old diabetic daughter when I was reading your story. Just makes the heart smile.
God wants us all to dance until the dance is done.
I don't know how many times I've read and thought (and cried) over this post over the last few weeks.
Would you please tell Molly for me that her words inspired me to put out my hand last Saturday and dance? (If you didn't read it yet, my blog explains.) Do you think you're able to explain to her how much the dance means to me? Or will she already understand?
Would you also tell her that I pray for her and for her parents?
Thanks, Billy.