Waiting...

Argentine tango is an illusive and mysterious dance. It defies traditional ballroom timing, frame, and footwork. Many dancers find it to be the most difficult style of ballroom to master. There are few established patterns and it is often danced in complete silence.

Perhaps the most beautiful nuance of the Argentine tango stems from the man's ability to vary the timing or frame at any point in a given step. However, this distinction makes the dance exceptionally difficult to dance well because of the lack of predetermined timing or patterns. To show the true heart of the tango requires a strong and trusting connection between partners.

One afternoon as I was working with one of my dance students, I experienced a moment in time that I will cherish for years to come. In an effort to convey the heart of the Argentine tango to her, I explained that if I could describe this dance in a single word I would use the word "waiting". The dancers can only create the smooth, silky grace of the Argentine tango if the woman has learned to wait. She must wait in calm preparation after each step, ready to step again in whichever direction her partner indicates.

In order to create this remarkable movement and connection each partner must first develop a deep sense of awareness. Even before the dancers move, they must find their awareness...awareness of their posture, their bodies, and their connection with one another. The woman must be able to sense her partner's slightest movement. Then, as her partner asks her to step, she must step deliberately, fully committing her body and her weight to the movement. After responding to her companion's movement by stepping, she must wait...not trying to anticipate the next step...but simply wait.



As I shared these ideas with my student I saw her eyes brighten. "So in order to create these smooth silky movements I have to give up control, stop anticipating, and just listen to what you're asking me to do?" she asked.

Yes!

Excitedly she asked, "Can we try it!" As I led her through several steps, I noticed her movement had drastically changed. Our steps were smooth and controlled; we moved together almost seamlessly. It was as if we were floating through each step. After several moments, I stopped and asked her what she thought of the new movement. She began to cry as she shared, "That was the most beautiful moment I have ever experienced!"

I quickly realized that we had stumbled upon something special. Rather than continuing with the lesson I had planned, I asked if she would like to continue with the tango. As I watched her tear-filled eyes, she simply nodded, "Yes". We spent the next 40 minutes dancing every Argentine tango step she knew over and over again. We didn't need to talk. We didn't need music. Everything around us faded as we were caught up in the movement.

As our lesson ended she took my hand, looked into my eyes, and whispered, "Thank you, that was life changing."

For days afterwards I pondered this experience. I realized that the same lesson I imparted to my student, is a lesson that the Lord wants to impart to us. As I reflected on my student initially moving through her steps with little thought, I realized that is how I often live my life, on autopilot.

Our Heavenly Father wants to have a passionate, intimate relationship with each one of us. The Argentine tango beautifully symbolizes this kind of relationship. But, as my student discovered in her tango, in order to follow His leading in life, we must find awareness. Awareness of the choices we make in our daily lives, awareness of our relationship with our Father, and we must learn the importance of waiting. We must learn how to wait for the Lord's divine leading. As we learn to move into these areas of awareness, we will find that our connection with the Lord becomes easier, becomes lighter, and becomes clearer. Whether this beautiful picture of relationship and connection is seen through the Argentine tango, or in your spiritual and emotional life, this connection moves us toward the beauty and intimacy that Adam and Eve enjoyed with the Father in the Garden and the intimacy that we will one day experience with our Father in Heaven.


Courage to Ask the Questions

Over the last several years I have been on a journey of discovery. Much like Christian from "Pilgrim's Progress", at times I have experienced moments of great success and excitement, while at other times I have felt overwhelmed to the point of tears. I have questioned many things that I had previously taken for granted, or considered obvious, and I have been strongly criticized for the questions I have asked.

It is a difficult thing to step outside the established ways of life of a group, community, work or church environment. We find it easy to sink into a rut or a routine and trudge along in the same paths our leaders, parents, pastors, bosses, and other authority figures have traversed. But what has happened to our sense of adventure, the spirit of discovery that has driven mankind to great accomplishments.

From the discovering of our country by Christopher Columbus, to Neil Armstrong setting foot on the moon, tremendous feats have been accomplished by those who were not willing to settle for status quo. Does this sense of adventure and discovery not apply to our spiritual lives as well...?

As individuals and as a corporate body (aka the Church) I have felt myself and many people close to me have settled into a nice, comfortable, Christian routine. We go to church on Sunday, listen to a pleasant topical message, tithe our 10ish %, go to small group on Wednesdays or the Single's mixer on Friday night and call it done. At some point along the way, (I couldn't exactly tell you when it happened) I became enraptured with a simple question..."why?" Why do we do the things we do in Church today?

Why do we start our services with worship?

Why do we typically only have one person who teaches/preaches every Sunday?

Why do we stand for worship and sit during the preaching?

Why do we pray silently rather than out loud?

Why do we send the teenagers to Sunday school instead of staying in the "main" service?

Why do we raise or clap our hands during worship?

Why is communion so important?

 

 

These are just a very small sampling of the many, many questions I have been asking. As I have started exploring to find the answer to these questions I have found that some of them have strong Biblical reasoning backing up the practice, others I have found no Biblical substantiation for at all.

 

Now as a disclaimer, I am not suggesting a nihilistic approach of throwing out the established order and creating something entirely new. What I am hoping, is that you might take courage from my story and begin asking your own questions. Allow yourself to step outside the box, begin not only asking the questions, but looking for the answers.