My own idea, for what it is worth, is that all sadness which is not either arising from the repentance of a concrete sin and hastening towards concrete amendment or restitution, or else arising from pity and hastening to active assistance, is simply bad; and I think we all sin by needlessly disobeying the apostolic injunction to 'rejoice' as much as by anything else.
~ C.S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain
Sometimes I forget to dance.
~ Kristin Woodard
I read the above C.S. Lewis quote during Leah's and my reading of The Problem of Pain a couple of days ago, and it's been on my mind off and on since. The second quote I read this morning, and it struck me as just as profound as Lewis'. Now, I don't know what prompted my sister-in-law to write that she sometimes forgets to dance, or exactly what she herself actually meant. There was no context, only that one sentence. But my first thought when I read those words was, "Me too."
Sometimes I forget to dance. Quite often I fail to rejoice. I say a quick thank you to God when I appreciate something or when something goes my way, and at the end of the day I publicly declare five things that I am grateful for on that particular day. Then, I rest easy feeling that I have a grateful heart and all is well. But being thankful and grateful are not necessarily rejoicing. And let me be honest here, there are plenty of days I spend way too much time griping and complaining. Just because I can remember to be grateful throughout the day and at its end doesn't mean that I have been grateful the entire day.
Philippians 4:4 tells us to rejoice in the Lord always. Always, a word that means at all times and on all occasions and guarantees by its very presence in that verse that we will fall short. Rejoice, to take delight in the Lord and His love for us. I usually enjoy my motorcycle rides to and from work, even when I don't enjoy them, I don't mind them as long as it's not raining or too cold. But yesterday I took much delight in the ride home. I actually laughed out loud with joy a couple of times. Leah asked me why I felt so grateful for that ride and why I had fun, and I told her I often enjoy my rides. I just don't often put it on my gratitude list. That's true, but yesterday was different. I don't know why. I didn't really think about it until now. Perhaps it was due to not hurting much for the first time in weeks made it easy to feel joy. Maybe the time I spent in solitude with God during the work day improved my attitude in ways that I didn't even realize needed improving and made it impossible for me not to rejoice.
I don't know. I do know that I bounced to the beat of my Pandora music praising God all the way home and took much delight in every curve and turn on the way home. I know that I danced on that bike and in my spirit on the way home. I know that it's been far too long since I have done so. I know that sometimes I remember to dance, but that most times I don't. Most of the time the aches, pains, stresses and worries of life take the joy of the music of the day away. But life is good when the Lord is a part of it, even when it's hard and there's pain. Today I will listen to the music of praise in the world around me and try to ignore that which conflicts with my dance with my Lord. I will dance with the One who brung me and brought me through it all to this moment where I can find rest and joy in Him.
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