“The Dance”

You thought today would never come, but it’s here, and you’re ready. Better weather, you couldn’t have asked for. Friends and family are here showing their love and support for the two of you.
And now the happy couple is getting ready to leave the church to embark on a new adventure together.
Confident and a bit nervous, they are ready and willing to tackle whatever life throws at them. And all it will offer in return, knowing in their hearts that it will always be this way. That every hurdle they face will be fought together, even in their golden years. God will lead them, and they will follow and serve Him. Life is good. And so begins “the dance.”

 

Let me just take a moment to explain “the dance.”

With marriage, you encounter endless emotions along with the good, the bad, and the ugly. By ugly I am speaking of those unwanted, disastrous moments fraught with emotion. Or it could be times when just one of you is holding on to an irreconcilable past, not being able to let go of it, or the deep-rooted pain that slowly unfolds to reveal layers buried deeply within. Or even something worse. But when you work together, letting each other know all of the bad stuff, you are able to walk through all the turmoil, facing it head-on. Then together you conquer the ugly. You are victorious. The dance I’m speaking of here is for after getting through the tough times, and for those moments that could easily lead in another direction, one of separation or divorce. But you both got past it and moved on. This is the important factor. You didn’t take the other road. When you diffuse the bomb, and when you don’t give up on each other, you conquer the bad and the ugly. Then, you celebrate by metaphorically walking together to the middle of the floor. You see the light in each other’s eyes, remembering why you are together. You share a loving embrace, and you dance.

 

 

Your struggles will differ from those of your friends. Although you might share some of the same issues,
no couple’s problems are exactly the same. The dance is a release, a way to let go of all the stress from the bad, and the ugly. After all the mess is dealt with, “the dance” could be a euphoric feeling of letting go that leads to an evening of togetherness, holding hands while taking a walk, or to a night of love-making. The possibilities are endless, and it’s totally up to you. This is “your dance.”

 

 

 

A few years later…
As you count your blessings through children, family, friends, good health, and Kodak moments, suddenly, and for some strange reason, the gears shift. You both are left wondering what happened. How did our life change so drastically? And you hold each other close, even as the dance steps are a little shaky now, and  you’re afraid. You both plan a hasty retreat. Then you stop, and hopefully you pray. You find your way in the dark, taking a few steps back to the floor where your steps are slowly in sync. And you conquer your fear—and you dance.

 

 

 

 

A few more years down the road…
Again, the tempo changes.

The steps are even slower than before since you may have experienced the loss of a loved one, or something has happened to really shake your foundation. You feel like your bond together is tested. The cord holding the two of you together is twisted, yet strengthened. Twisted, because the two of you are united as one.  Like strands of rope that is strong and lasting. It is strengthened in love and your commitment to each other. And in time, you laugh as you regain your steps leading you, once again, to the place you began. To the dance.

 

Time stands still…
You have weathered the storms of tragedy and devastation. And along with celebrating life’s little nuances and blessings that fill you with joy—life deals you another blow. This blow doesn’t hit all at once. It creeps slowly, leaving you puzzled about your partner in the dance. A state of confusion overtakes this partner, robbing them of their memories as well as any future time together with you. As soon as you can, you persuade your partner to re-enter the dance floor, and try to recapture the moments together, and the light in your love’s eyes and smile. That smile that only shined for you…is now gone! the vacancy you find in those eyes  seems only to take your breath…
and thus your soul.

And now you know and are certain that this disease, this plague they call Alzheimer’s has claimed and destroyed yet another life…your life together. As your partner inches away slowly, leaving the dance floor, and leaving you —alone. You yourself are lost. You are left standing there and staring at this person who shared their life with you. And you cringe when you see this lost soul staring back, not having a clue as to who you are now. This same dance partner you gave your heart to so long ago, will lose their way, their life, and their love. They will lose you. This is a heart-rending disease. One that is harder on the ones that have their memories fully intact. The diseased victim doesn’t know you anymore, so they don’t remember ever having a relationship with you of any kind, let alone remember they love you. So the partner left behind will never enter the dance floor again. For you,t he dance is over.

This is so hard, but it does happen , and it leaves you empty inside. I don’t want to end my post like this, so get ready for a happier ending. Okay, are you ready?

 

In your declining years…
Though the dance rarely finishes while both partners reach the end of their lives and their dance together, it does happen. There is nothing sweeter than a final embrace, having their final dance in sync, and flashing their last smile at one another as they prepare to leave this world together, a couple who have weathered the storm, raised their children, suffered loss, and served their God, with joy. This long-lasting relationship they share is now at a close. Before leaving the dance floor, they share a look that says much about their entire married life. Holding hands, they quietly slip away taking their last breaths, remembering “the dance.”

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The Decision

Once upon a time, long, long ago….actually it’s only been months, but I needed to get your attention. Now that I have it, I’ll continue.  Sadly, this is a true story. Some of you may not believe it. Trust me. This wasn’t easy to write. The details such as names and locations do not matter. It’s the heart of the story that needs to grab your attention.

The main characters in this story are a man and his wife, fifty-ish, and a younger man in his late thirties. The couple and younger man saw each other at the same public place, and one day the younger man showed interest in the couple conversing in bible study. He was invited to join in. He said he would like to sometime, but had some other engagement presently. So he showed up again the next day, shared a little more about himself and his girlfriend, and about how much God had blessed him. Again, he had something that took him away from beginning the study and was gone. The next time the three saw each other, the woman asked the younger man if he wanted to be sure he  had an eternal home in heaven. He countered with, “You know, that’d be great–but– I kind of like the way things are now.”  Shortly after that, he joined in the couple’s  conversation about the Lord, and the older man tried to discern where in the bible  the younger man needed to be to help him in his struggles and relationships.

Arrangements were made to meet for bible study together the following day, but the younger man didn’t show up. A couple of days later he came inside but left quickly. Just before leaving he told several others that the couple were his “good friends” because they understood him. “They get me” he said. The older man went outside and found the younger man having very angry words with someone and cursing him.

Three days went by, and the couple hadn’t seen the younger man. They next received word that the younger man was killed the previous afternoon. Violently stabbed to death multiple times in a public place. His life here on earth was over…just like that…gone. He never gave the couple an answer whether or not he had made the decision to accept Christ as his personal savior. The woman’s husband told her that had been what the younger man meant when he said that  they “get him.” That they knew he was leading two different lives. He was being pulled in two completely different directions.  He was serving two masters–and Satan was winning. Maybe he had won. This was terribly hard for the couple to accept. Maybe if they had tried harder to win the younger man over, thereby pulling him from the other side. Maybe they would have succeeded in that tug of war, thus winning a soul to Christ. This was devastating for the couple.

      In the days that followed, the couple had heard stories depicting the younger man’s lifestyle leading up to the stabbing.  People who knew him said that he lead a different way of life. The couple were disheartened and weren’t sure what to believe. It was unfathomable to think they could do no more for the younger man except pray for his soul.

The couple later found that the younger man had two grown sons who were living a life of violence as well. It made them more aware of the bible’s truths that the hairs on our heads are numbered, and that we can’t add even one day to our life. Not one of us knows the day we’re going to die. Not one of us knows if we have another day to make the most important decision of our lives. It would be good right here if I could say “and they all lived happily ever after” but they didn’t. There was a senseless death– due to the pre-conceived anger of another person. And this individual took this blinding rage into his own hands, ending the life of another human being. Yes, he was  caught and went to jail. And he still has a chance to see heaven. You all know this, right? If this man repents, turns his life around, and follows Christ–he will be saved by our loving Heavenly Father from the fire pits of Hell. He still has time to make the decision. FYI–we as christians have the responsibility to pray for this man to have the opportunity to be led to Jesus. We don’t have the right to hope or pray that he dies a violent death as well. Vengeance, in the life of a christian, is the Lord’s. He will repay. We probably won’t live to see it happen, but we have to trust that it will. The decision to accept or reject Jesus Christ as savior and Lord of our life, is ours. He won’t force us. We make the choice. He wants us to come to Him willingly. What an awesome privilege it is to serve a living God.

As sad as this story was to write, maybe you know of someone who either doesn’t know Christ, or hasn’t made  “the decison.”  I’m asking that you not assume there’s plenty of time for you to share your faith with others. Or maybe  you don’t know the savior of the world. Through the internet, it’s easier than ever to access all kinds of websites, download music to your MP3 player, listen to podcasts on your SmartPhone, or any number of things. I’m asking you to do yourself or someone else a favor by learning what you can, so you or a friend or family member can make this decision. But before you make it–consider the alternative of living without knowing and serving our God of love.

Hell is a real place, and it’s not pretty. Do some research. Find an online bible if you don’t own one, and search biblical passages using the keyword “hell“ and read the descriptions in those passages. Be informed. Be armed with knowledge. There is no time to waste. Do not, please do not take this lightly. Jesus is coming again for “His church.” You or someone you know will want to be part of it.  Read the “Left Behind” book series or see the movie.

           

Make this decision yourself or tell others about the information you found during your search. Please understand that this was a tough story to write and relate to you. I wrote it with a goal in mind…to inform, and to help you or another make “the decision.”

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1-2-3-Go!

 

While reflecting on certain times in my life, I’ve come to realize that many of those times I’ve acted a little less than perfect. Okay, a lot less. So in doing this I have to say that I put important matters on the back burner instead of tackling them head on. Procrastination. That sounds like such a dirty, ugly, horrid word. And it is, really. Putting things off until the last minute like I did only made for restlessness and anxiety for me, and gave others the idea that I wasn’t worthy of their trust. It also lead to being late, giving others around me the feeling I didn’t care.

I do care!

  My solution—1-2-3-Go!   

This method helped me tremendously. I still fall victim to procrastination once in a while, but mostly I have managed to change that bad habit before any more damage was done–letting those I care about know they can rely on my word. What are we if our word is no good?

So, 1-2-3-Go! goes something like this:                                                                                                                                                                        

1 -FOCUS   —   on what needs to be done, write it down in order of importance if needed.

2 –PRAY  —   for the Holy Spirit to guide you and hold you accountable if the task is incomplete.

3 – TAKE ACTION   —    Get up! Seriously, stand up and move toward whatever it is that needs doing. By doing this you have already taken control. This is half the battle.

GO!   —   Just do it! Tackle the task now, and don’t forget to thank God for your new attitude of godliness. 

     

It will get easier. You may have devised your own method of avoiding procrastination. If so, that’s great. That means you’ve recognized this as a problem that needed to be combatted, and I give you props. Let me in on your method. C’mon, share.

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Just Say No?

You are slowly losing control. The struggles you’re experiencing now are too great, and the situation doesn’t seem to be changing. Now you’ve been diagnosed with depression and anxiety disorder. Where do you turn? Do you search your bible for comforting words of truth, or do you tell your friends that God doesn’t care? Let me say this: God does care. He loves you, and He will never love you any more or less than He does right now. He speaks through His Holy Word to all of us–believers and non-believers. But we believers should already know that the Holy Spirit is always with us, and that God is always working in our lives on our behalf. He is our Comforter. (Counselor, The Promise)  (John 14:16-26, Acts 2:38-39). And filled with compassion, the Holy Spirit guides us in what we think, say, and do.

However, the non-believer doesn’t have this assurance, this comfort, this knowledge. They may become a victim of their circumstances causing their health to diminish. Their zest for life is gone. They stop caring about themselves and others. Then they fall apart. Why? Because they don’t have access to the living God. Our protector, our strength, our “go-to guy.” They don’t see the tremendous love our God has for all of us, christian and  non-christian. They don’t know His promises, or that God is always faithful. And because they don’t know God, they can’t know Jesus, God’s only son. The only one by whom they can be saved and have eternal life. (Acts 2:21, 4:12, Ephesians 1:20-21, Hebrews 7:25, Romans 10:13-14, Philippians 2:9-11) And the saddest thing of all–they won’t ever see Heaven. Why not? you ask. Because we’re not sharing the gospel. We’re not sharing Christ enough.

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That’s right…We’re not doing what God commanded us to do. The Great Commission. (Mark 16:15, Luke 24:45-47) Did we forget that Jesus gave us a mission? The root word for commission is “commit”.Are we committed enough to see the it that there are no more unbelievers, only believers? I don’t think we are. So let’s just tell Jesus “No.” And…we might as well say no to God, too. C’mon, it’s a lot easier than feeling guilty, right? We find it tough to spend time with our own families, let alone time getting to know someone in our own neighborhood who may or may not know the Lord. Does that bother us enough to re-evaluate our priorities?

Here’s a newsflash: God didn’t ask us to love others, or ask us to spread the Good News, (gospel) of His son’s life, death, burial, and resurrection. Come to think of it…God didn’t ask anybody He spoke to in the Old Testament to do anything. He told them. He commanded them. His meaning was clear. Do it, or else. And other times it was do it and I will bless you in such and such a manner.

But I think we need to be up front with God. We need to say something like God, I’m sorry, but I just don’t have the time. We need to capture His attention and tell Him No, God. It’s too hard, and I can’t do it. But I’ll pray that one of your “prayer warriors” will take on this particular task. Well–after all, we still serve God, don’t we?  Just not in this capacity. Besides, we still sing in the choir and attend church regularly. We help our neighbors at times…no, it’s too much. Everybody’s salvation rests on us? Uh-uh. WE HAVE A “NO” HERE!!

Then, a soul-searching question comes to mind: ( Holy Spirit)

 Did God say “No” when it came to His only son, who took on the sins of the whole world by dying that horrendous death on the cross so we could all have salvation, and live with Him forever in Heaven when we die?

No. He undeniably did not. So, do we have any right to tell God “No” about anything? Food for thought, huh? He doesn’t want even one person to miss going to Heaven. ( 11 Peter 3.9) And no one can enter Heaven’s Gate unless they accept Jesus into their heart. To have this happen we have to be proactive and share with people what Jesus means to us, and share our testimony of how He saved us by His Love and amazing Grace.

 Note:  If you do not know Christ and want to share in His love and have “eternal life” after death–please reply to this post, or talk to someone you trust who is a christian, and one of us will be thrilled to talk to you about how you can do this. It will be the easiest and most rewarding experience you will ever have in your life. Trust me…trust Him.

May God bless you all, and as aways, thanks for viewing.

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