"The Danse" – Part 2 ~ A guest post by Nya Jacobs

The room stops.  Everything - every flickering light, every person, every sound - it all stops. His full attention is on you.  There is a connection in His gaze, as if He knows you and a gentleness on His face, as if He's been expecting you.  With resolve He's walking towards you and you entertain turning to leave.
  

But I don't want to leave. Again. What have I been running from? I've been looking for something and this - Him, HE - feels like the something. Something like…home. 
 

He comes closer and you stand, waiting to see if He will actually talk to you. Or maybe He's looking right past you at the more beautiful, confident girl behind you. Why in the world would He ever approach you? Does He have any idea there are much better dancers, better socializers, better people in this room than you? 

Hello. 

Hello.

  

I'm really glad you're here. 

Oh...you are?

  

Yes. I Am. Would you like to danse with Me?

  

He holds out His hand, His offer confident but not forceful. You sense the freedom to choose to dance, or not to dance.  But why say no? You've heard about Him - stories and songs and experiences of others.  His eyes are inviting, His body language open. 

No I'm sorry, I don't think so. I’d have no idea what I'd be doing out there. 

I will show you if you’ll let Me.

  

Counter to all your learned responses, you're drawn to trust Him. Trust He won't care if you look ridiculous, in turn making Him look ridiculous. He seems willing to be patient with you and there is a sense your company is meaningful to Him.

  

So…you take his hand. 

  

He leads you onto the floor, giving you some very basic and seemingly oversimplified instructions: Don't worry. I've got you. Just follow Me. Just follow-that’s it? You find yourself staring at your feet as you choppily move over the floor that He seems to float on.  Periodically you glance up to see Him smiling compassionately at you while diligently leading. You keep doing the same steps, finding it's not the steps that make you uncomfortable because, essentially, it's like walking in place. It's the leading...being lead in this "danse" is what makes things harder. You can't move wherever you choose or it'll throw everything off.  There is music playing you've not heard before and the rhythm is unfamiliar.  But this stranger is making all the difference in the process.

I didn’t catch Your name.

Sorry?

  

Who are You? 

I told you before. I Am.

You have another moment like earlier when everything stops, except this time things don’t just stop, they become crystal clear.  He IS - what you’ve been thirsting for, what you’ve been searching for, why you’ve kept coming back and why nothing else ever satisfied. He is this I Am. The phrase feels awkward but it makes everything else make perfect sense. You’ve tried to do this partner danse all alone, failing miserably. Yet here’s your comfort – you’re finally dancing the Way it was intended: at home with the I Am.

Hola!  I'm Nya, and I'm honored at the privilege to write :) When I'm not planning my September wedding (and preparing for my marriage!), I work with those recovering from addiction, cook and bake, take road trips with my fiancé, and plan my next creative venture.  I have a very soft heart for the country of France and the salvation of their youth.  I grew up in church but came to Christ in my late teens.  Grace has been a stumbling block for my legalism and perfectionism, but from God's word, I've developed this mantra:

And I praise You because of the wonderful way You created me.  Everything You do is marvelous! Of this I have no doubt.  God planned for us to do good things and to live as He has always wanted us to live.  That's why He sent Christ to make us what we are.  For sin shall not have dominion over you: you are not under the law, but under grace. Ps 139:14, Eph 2:10, Rom 6:14

Feel free to connect with me on Twitter @createdwell.

"The Danse" – Part 1 ~ A guest post by Nya Jacobs

3 The LORD appeared to us in the past, saying:  "I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness. 4 I will build you up again and you will be rebuilt, O Virgin Israel.  Again you will take up your tambourines and go out to dance with the joyful." - Jeremiah 31

You've come here time and time again.  But you always leave before you make eye contact, before you have to choose to commit.  But for some reason you always come back.  You see people mingling with each other, some there alone, like you.  You wonder if others are nervous to be there, or if you’re the only one who is unsure.

Ugh, I’m here again.  I want to stay but I don’t think I can.   Look at everyone else – they are so much more in tune and able and…ugh, I can’t.  There is no way I’m coming back here again.

You say that to yourself every time, and something keeps bringing you back.  It used to be curiosity.  You’ve tried this before, but you were younger, stupider, a know-it-all.  You’ve got some of the dirt of life under your fingernails, and you’ve learned how to survive...Well, sort of.  Now you find yourself coming when you have questions or when you are sad or tired. Most recently, you’ve come because there is a void.  You’ve tried all kinds of things, and it’s like pouring cloudy water in a cracked Nalgene bottle – it’s always empty before you expected, and it’s contents were sub-par at best.

It’ll do.

Well, it has so far.  But now…

Now.  Now you know the list of things on your bucket list did absolutely nothing for your soul.

Make $100,000+ a year.  Travel for a whole summer.  Do something illegal.  Skip a day of work for no reason.  Drink the most expensive glass of wine on the menu.  Spend a week at the monastery.  Become a master gardener.  Learn yoga.  Call my mom twice a week for six months.  Spend Christmas at the orphanage.

And you are back here, at the same place before you accomplished, tried, check marked your goals. And you feel just as broken and empty.  Then you see Him...The One you’ve seen here many times.  Sometimes He was very present to you; sometimes you really had to look for Him; but He was always there in some capacity.  You’ve never been this close to Him because you usually would have left by now.  You realize that you are experiencing this place very differently.  It feels sacred.  You feel overwhelmed. He seems to fill the whole space with His…what is that?  His…something. His aura?  His soul?  His spirit?  What is it that you can feel, pulsing through the air.  It’s surrounding your body like a cloud.  You can’t put your finger on it, but He and His whatever-that-is has your full attention.  Nothing, absolutely nothing, has captured you in this way before.  You are inquisitive about, ever thirsty for, a few moments near Him, but you are at a safe enough distance to observe and not be too involved yet.  You close your eyes to take in a deep breath to just ground yourself a bit.  You open them, and He’s looking right at you…

Hola!  I'm Nya, and I'm honored at the privilege to write :) When I'm not planning my September wedding (and preparing for my marriage!), I work with those recovering from addiction, cook and bake, take road trips with my fiancé, and plan my next creative venture.  I have a very soft heart for the country of France and the salvation of their youth.  I grew up in church but came to Christ in my late teens.  Grace has been a stumbling block for my legalism and perfectionism, but from God's word, I've developed this mantra:

And I praise You because of the wonderful way You created me.  Everything You do is marvelous!  Of this I have no doubt.  God planned for us to do good things and to live as He has always wanted us to live.  That's why He sent Christ to make us what we are.  For sin shall not have dominion over you: you are not under the law, but under grace. Ps 139:14, Eph 2:10, Rom 6:14

Feel free to connect with me on Twitter @createdwell.