A Time to Dance

It is time to dance. It is time to be happy in the journey, no matter the trial we’re facing. To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven….A time to weep, and a time to laugh, a time to mourn, and a time to dance.

I am about to blow your mind. No one begins their "downward spiral" consciously choosing to be miserable. No one sits back as a child and thinks, "Gee, I would really enjoy being miserable for eternity" and begins making choices to take them there. As well, no one believes of themselves that they aren't trying hard, to make life better, to do what is right, to enjoy life. Right? Where this doesn't mean that we don't have moments where we realize we could have tried harder, but, to be honest, it wasn't like we weren't trying.

So, how do we become miserable? If we know that the path leads to joy and we can be happy along the way, why are we miserable? Please note: I am not including being sad or having struggles as being miserable, but I am referring to despair and doubting.

Well, let’s be honest, it's because we forget. We may even convince ourselves that some other way is better; it hurts less this way (at least right now). Forgetting is just the first step, and then we justify our actions and beliefs, leading us to wander even further away. We let our priorities collect dust, thinking we'll get to them later, and eventually we forget the end goal. We forget that the pathway to heaven is a steep climb at times, shaping us to be like Christ. We forget that we are right where we need to be. And, we forget to dance along the way.

"Don't give up what you want most for what you want at the moment." We all believe this, it's not new information, yet we can all probably remember when we decided to take it easy for a little while. Now, saying this, I am not contradicting the scripture that we don't need to run faster than we have strength, but we do need to keep going and stay on track.  

In our efforts to slow down, we must remember we’ll all get where we need to go if we keep working and we hold on to whatever level of faith we can manage.

Here is what I want to remember, and consequently what I want you to remember:

If your heart has been heavy for awhile, you have been feeling somewhat miserable, like you are running as much and as fast as you can, well, maybe it is time to dance.

Find joy again in the journey. Remember that you are on the right track. Remember, you do have to keep moving forward, and remember to keep the best "little things" in your life, not the ones leading you to laziness, watching one more TV show, hitting the snooze 3 more times, ignoring your neighbor because you claim that you are "busy", whatever your little vice is. We all have them. Personally, I love to take naps, and, it can be hard for me to look beyond myself and my trials. These two things are seemingly little, but I can carry them to an excess, especially when combined. "I'm just too tired" or whatever.  

Personally, I hate running, so for me, it is time once again to dance. Sure, I mean metaphorically, but also literally. Sometimes I just like to spin for a little bit. It brings me joy.

Find a new way to go, and keep moving forward and finding joy in the journey.