Dancing with Imperfections

When I was 14 I went to the National clown, mime, dance and puppetry ministry workshop that was a week long at Ithaca college in upstate NY. I had only just begun dancing with little formal dancing under my belt. I have a few key moments that I remember from the week. One of them was stretching in dance class and the instructor saying, " Now while you are down there, kiss your leg." It sounds pretty funny, right? It did to me as a 14 year old. I did though, she was an inspiring, loving Christian dance instructor and that day sparked in me something that all the turmoil of life has not taken away. And that is: our bodies need our love, respect, and commitment. Just as Christ loves the church with all its imperfections we need to love our bodies with all our imperfections.

Before that experience my very first dance class was a one-on-one, the instructor was an older teen maybe 17, while I was 13. The "first' position didn't go so well because of my bad posture. As I bent my knees, my butt stuck out in such a way that she burst into laughter. Needless to say I quit that first day, totally humiliated. It took a few months and another teacher (also a teen) to get me into a class. She eventually did and was better prepared for my postures or lack there of. Over time I fell head over heels in love with dance.

But I had imperfections, later to become known as scoliosis with the larger curve being in my lower back which explained the bad posture. But with these imperfections, caused by life, I continued to dance. Through determination and perseverance I danced and became better and better. So yes I had my imperfections when asked to give my right leg a kiss I had no idea the imperfection had a name. Through many years of dancing and battling to get better posture I learned to work with my imperfections to bring my body to a place where we worked together (me and this body) to express to an audience an experience. It was not until I asked Christ to dance with me that I found a level of dance beyond my imaginings. Have you ever invited Christ to help you with your fitness endeavors, to guide your movements, to navigate when to push hard and when to hold back? "It is through Christ who strengthens me that I can do all things." said St Paul. And it is through Christ who strengthens you that you can do all things.

Somewhere in life my body was convinced to curve sideways or actually twist. Have you ever had a time when what you did caused a physical reaction that was not in your favor? Like stress that causes tension in the shoulders or an injury that has left some scar tissue and an ache that always seems to be there. I wish there were instant remedies for some of these trials our bodies put us through, but that isn't the case. I say love that body anyway with all its imperfections, give it love and attention. Let your body know that you and Christ love it with its imperfections that its alright to be imperfect. It is loved and cherished as the home of the Holy Spirit regardless of its shape, tension, or disease.