dance upon dissapointment

I was driving and listening to music in my car the other day and a song came on that really caught my attention... You know some songs you listen to and it's like they speak RIGHT to your soul? This was one of those. "Awake my soul to sing with your breath in me, I will worship. You taught my feet to dance upon disappointment and I, I will worship." Oh those words gave me chills. 

Dance upon disappointment, wow. That goes right along with where God has had me at... not playing the victim, finding happiness where you are at, but this goes even deeper. I looked up the word dance and one of the meanings was "move in a quick and lively way" So, dance (move in a quick and lively way) upon disappointment. What would our lives look like if we lived this out through disappointment? What if we truly danced though our trials keeping our eyes on God knowing he has a plan, trusting in Him. Holding onto hope. I've found I'm good at pushing through and being strong, but I've just recently learned that I needed a tiny shift in perspective. Getting through something does not mean getting over it or accepting it. Being strong in your struggle does not necessarily mean you're trusting God. Accepting your life, your story, your circumstance is very much needed if you want to be able to dance through your trials. God wants more for you than to just barely make it day to day. He wants you to enjoy your life.

Another definition of dance is "move rhythmically to music typically following a sequence of steps". I think the Bible lays out the steps we should take in trials, as Jesus showed us so beautifully when he walked this earth.

1. Remember your hope. I believe this is what a lot of people lose in the midst of struggle and sadly it’s something I think people skip over which leads to depression or even suicide. Loss of hope? No reason to live. Take hold of hope, find your hope. If you're wondering where to find it, there is only one place, Jesus. For me I find the most hope in worship. That’s where I can always find my sense of purpose.

2. Forgive. Let whoever caused you pain go. Whatever caused you pain, let it go. You can’t move forward until you forgive. Forgiveness is for YOU. (If you’d like more insight on forgiveness check out my blog “forgiveness”) 

3. Accept your story. Which is what I want to talk about the most. Accept: consent to receive, with approval; receive as adequate, suitable. Do you accept where you are at? Have you accepted your life, everything in it? If your life was handed to you written on a piece of paper would you receive it with approval? Seeing it suitable? 

That’s a hard one. And being completely vulnerable it’s the one that I’ve had the hardest time with. It’s easy to start making excuses like life isn’t supposed to be this way, things should be different. I can find the good in things, I can forgive... But choosing my circumstance? I’m working on. And you might say, Alesha, you’re crazy. You don’t know what I’ve gone through I would have never chose this for myself. I get it. But you know every tiny detail of what you’ve gone through and are in the middle of has created the wonderful you you are today. And the bad is just as much a part as the good in life. I believe hard times are for growth. They are to challenge us. To remind us to not get complacent. 

God states in Jeremiah 29:11 “I know what I’m doing, I have it all planned out. Plans to take care of you, not abandon you. Plans to give you the future you hope for” Basically, here he is saying I know you might not understand, but I do. I know things might be uncomfortable but I have a plan. You are right where you are supposed to be. I know what I’m doing. This is all a part of the journey you have to travel to get you to what you hope for. And I love that not only does he comfort us with those words but he also says in the following verses “When you come looking for me, you’ll find me. When you get serious about finding me I’ll make sure you won’t be disappointed.” He knows the journey may be hard, that you will be tempted to feel like things got screwed up but he says I’ll be there for you when those times come. Just look for me. With that in mind, it’s almost hard to not accept where you are. If you knew for a fact you were right where God destined you to be right now, would you accept - I mean approve of, consent to receive and sign off on the papers to your life? UH DUH!!

I remember a year ago seeing a painting of a beautiful ballerina dancing and there was darkness all around her but she didn’t seem to be affected. There she was dancing as graceful and as beautiful as ever. How? Why? I believe it’s because she had a true sense of faith. A sense of hope. A sense of belonging. No matter what it looked like around her she knew she was right where she was supposed to be dancing along. That night is actually where I got “bloom with grace” which I am clearly still unfolding the meaning to as God grows me. I believe that is a great representation of how we should live out our lives. So have hope, forgive your enemies and then work your story. Use it for good. Kill it, slay it. Whatever you want to call it, just accept it. Dance upon disappointment and always continue to bloom with grace!