As a little girl, I clearly remember dreaming of finding my first pair of pointe shoes under the Christmas tree. Until I received my first pair, I flitted around our house in my mom’s old pair that she kept for a keepsake. They were broken in, well-loved, and seemed to fit me just right, although I had no idea how they were supposed to fit. Making sure no one was watching, I remember sneaking into our front living room, pretending in my heart that I was entering the very living room that Clara from the Nutcracker would have entered with its grand staircase, elegant grandfather clock, and magical Christmas tree. I pretended the guests had all left and it was just me and my imaginary Nutcracker doll and my pointe shoes. Deep in my imagination I dreamed that I glided across the stage in my pointe shoes, caught up in the fairy tale of The Nutcracker. But what is so vivid to me is that I wasn’t performing….I was believing that I was IN the story. I was Clara, not Sarah pretending to be Clara, I was Clara.
Those sweet memories of gliding through my living room remind me of the joy of child-like dreaming and child-like faith. And it sweetly reminds me that God intends for us to live above a negative outlook, above a bad mood, and above the ho-hum routine of the daily grind. He invites us to abundant life, and the older I get, the more I realize that I think I have only tasted it in bits and pieces. The taste of it makes me want all of it…every realm and depth and height of God’s presence….to know and believe that He gives me grace to live in a place of deeper joy than maybe I have ever experienced.
Maybe just how sometimes I get so busy being nervous when I’m performing on stage or too caught up in the pressure that I simply forget to enjoy the dancing….that maybe I do that in real life. It’s easy to get used to being nervous, to get used to just getting through a performance, and I totally miss that little girl magical beauty that I dreamed of as a young ballerina. In real life, we can grow comfortable with a negative outlook, a grumpiness, a “life is hard” mentality. We grow so comfortable with it that we do not even realize we don’t have to live that way. Jesus invites us to fully enjoy and embrace this dance of life…..to let go of the worry, the stress, the fretting, and to fully dive into the roles and the moments and the gifts that He has blessed us with. Of course I realize that oftentimes we are thrown into situations that are simply really hard, and I don’t want to make light of those difficulties we all face. How do we find joy in the midst of the hard stuff?
When I decide in my heart to let go of the pressure, to let go of the nerves, to let go of the fear of falling on stage or forgetting my steps, when I decide to dance from my heart and enjoy it….those are the most fun performances, and I think…..why don’t I do that all that time….and now I think….why don’t I live like that all the time?
It takes growing, it takes becoming, it takes learning, it takes mistakes, and it takes a decision in our hearts to WANT more of God’s presence. It takes deciding we want to be transformed.
Sign me up. I want all the wonder, the awe, the joy, the peace, the freedom that Christ came, died, and rose again to give me. I want all the wonder of Christmas in my heart all year long.
How about you?
“He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; He set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.” Psalm 40:2
I want to stand on the firm places of joy and peace that He offers and steer clear of sinking into the muck of negativity or a bad mood. Will it be easy? No, never, of course absolutely not! But He’s inviting us to stop being comfortable in the muck, and start looking up at Him…in trust that He will keep us out of the muck, continuously pulling us out when we slip into it, and help us stand firm in Him. It’s moment by moment by moment by moment…..and He helps us moment by moment by moment. And we start to realize that every moment matters, every moment has purpose: the daily stuff, the big stuff, the little stuff….it’s all purposeful when we make our purpose to pursue Christ, just as He is pursuing us.
Instead of performing through life, consenting to pressure and stress, what if we lived IN our story…the one God pre-planned for us and created us for by walking in step with Him through each moment, fully aware of our tendency to slip back into our old ways. In OUR story…not comparing our story to anyone else’s….not wishing we were anywhere else, but just perfectly placed in the big hands of our mighty God….at rest in His sweet and good plan for OUR life.
Prayer: “Lord, infuse my heart with joy, as I see anew that every moment matters and every moment has purpose. Thank You for waking me up to the sweet truth that abundant life is ours for the taking and that life in the big moments and the tiny, little moments, can be treasures of beauty, child-like wonder, and joy beyond measure. Show me how to live with the wonder of Christmas in my heart every moment.”
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