August 15th

David Dances

            It was told King David, “The Lord has blessed the household of Obed-edom and all that belongs to him, because of the ark of God.” So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-edom to the city of David with rejoicing;  and when those who bore the ark of the Lord had gone six paces, he sacrificed an ox and a fatling.  David danced before the Lord with all his might; David was girded with a linen ephod.  So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet. As the ark of the Lord came into the city of David, Michal daughter of Saul looked out of the window, and saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord; and she despised him in her heart.

2 Samuel 6:12-16

           

            Junior High dances are the worst.  Just the worst.  They are just gyms filled with young men and women who have not grown into their bodies who are trying so hard to have fun and be cool…when those things are mutually exclusive.  I walked into a Junior High dance when I was in 7^th grade; I stayed for five minutes and then left, thoroughly unimpressed.  Junior High dances are filled with misfitting clothes and awkward movement and groups of girls nervously giggling and groups of boys hitting each other and lots of people along the walls and bad lighting and questionable music.  They are filled with parents who had to drive their kids and now are counting down the minutes until they finally get to go home.  They are filled with nervous laughter and tears of rejection and manic laughter and dejected loneliness and an empty dance floor because nothing hurts as much as people laughing at you when you are trying to dance as a 12 year old. 

            And then there is my son.  My handsome, wonderful, energetic, oblivious son.  Know who is not dissuaded at all from doing something just because people will look at him funny?  Know who has a preconceived idea about what is supposed to happen at every holiday and every event and is determined that he will dance at a dance?  Know who cannot stop his body from moving when there is music playing?  There he is, alone on the dance floor, pulling out the 2 breakdancing moves that he knows.  There he is, doing the routine from Singin In the Rain’s hit song, “Make ‘Em Laugh.”  There he is, oblivious to the fact that every single eye in the gym is on him, because he is having the time of his life.  Some brave souls will go out onto the floor in a pack, trying to ignore the MC Hammer shuffle that he just broke out.  They will try a few moves that they have practiced over and over again but none of them are as free and as unabashedly joyful as my boy.  Most of his peers will stand on the walls, far to cool to participate and despising him for making it look so easy.

            King David went through the same thing.  He was filled with joy because the arc of the covenant was coming home…God’s blessing and favor and presence would again rest upon His people.  Every six steps or so, another dance party broke out and David was at the head of the pack, dancing with all his might.  His wife saw him and was ashamed; a king should be more refined and regal.  But David had not been appointed King because of his dignity or reserve.  He was King because his heart reflected God’s and during this procession home, joy poured out of every limb.

            Sometimes I wish that my son was more reserved and cautious.  I am not looking for angsty and neurotic, but maybe…just…less of a spectacle because this dance is not going to win him any friends…until he finally meets that person who gets him and dances just as hard as he does, smiling and sweating and moving non-stop.  That kind of relationship might be worth waiting for.

A moment to reflect:

When do you dance?  Why?