Recently, a friend went home to be with Jesus. His wife described their life together so beautifully: “It’s been a hard and painful journey, but we chose to dance in the rain.”
Tears welled up in my eyes as I read it – tears of sorrow because I sensed her grief, but also tears of joy because they had been able to take every moment and make it matter.
I meet a lot of people who are waiting.
Waiting for a cure. Waiting for the right one to come along. For the pregnancy test to be positive. For the cancer markers to be negative. For financial matters to be resolved. For family issues to be dealt with. For their needs to be met.
Meanwhile, they stop dancing, not realizing that they are robbing themselves by doing so.
I realize that there are situations in life when grief and pain can be so all-consuming that it is hard to find reasons for joy. We’ve had a few of those. Nevertheless, we know that it is possible to choose joy even in difficult times.
As most of you know, our youngest son was extremely ill for 12 years, and we decided to go on a family holiday to create memories for the rest of the family to live on after he was gone. We decided to visit Bethel Church in Redding, California, without knowing much about it. Six weeks before our trip I heard of many miracles and healings happening at Bethel. I reacted as any warrior momma would, ready to defend my child against anything that might make him feel devalued or belittled. I asked him: “Adrian, there has been quite a few healings in Bethel and maybe someone wants to pray for you. How do you feel about that?”
Adrian was by no means unfamiliar with prayer, and we had prayed many times for his healing. Still, he looked at me before answering: “I don’t know. I have a good life.”
He had learned how to dance in the rain.
Adrian’s deep-felt joy was not based on his circumstances, but the fact that he was a beloved son of his heavenly Father. In Him, he had everything, no matter how poor his health was, or how difficult his life proved to be.
That did not make him hold on to his disease, though. When Jesus healed him, Adrian was happy to let go of it all. He never identified with his disease or his handicap.
Our son never held back. Even when he was sick, he lived fully, not missing out on anything that God had for him in that season of his life.
Are you living your life fully in the season you’re in? Or have you stopped dancing?
I will give you hidden treasures,
riches stored in secret places,
so you may know that I am the Lord,
the God of Israel, who summons you by name.
Is 45:3, NIV
Do you search for the hidden treasures that can only be found in times of darkness?
Make sure to listen for the God who summons you by name. He might sound differently now than when times were easier, but he still whispers your true name – “beloved”, “beautiful”, “courageous”, and “fearfully and wonderfully made”.
Keep on dancing!