Life is a dance and we are the performers. Sometimes, I feel as though I'm a tap dancer. Stomping and clicking all alone on stage, exhausting my strength and skills. Of course, I'm performing with people by my side, perhaps everyone doing the same steps but not touching, not even glancing at each other for fear that we might lose our place in the rhythm.
Yesterday, I had about a hour before my program in DeLand began. I parked my car in a shaded spot. I sat thinking and praying. This past week had not been a tap dance for me. It's been a community-wide square dance that sometimes blended into an intimate waltz. At times, I was holding up, monitoring or facilitating the movements. But most of time, I've felt that others were pushing, prodding, guiding and helping me do an impossible intricate dance with people's lives balancing between life and death.
Of course, I'm not the doctors who have performed with skill but our prayers helped to guide their hands. I'm not the EMT's or fire personnel who came and performed emergency operations but the training of our volunteers and elders made it possible for us to know when to call, who to call and what to say.
The Special Gathering is a ministry within the mentally challenged community. Our one purpose is the disciple and evangelize people who are developmentally delayed. I must admit that even with the help and support of so many people who were praying and helping, it's been a hard week. But as I sat in my vehicle with the cool, afternoon breezes blowing around me, I knew I was in a unique and blessed place. As I looked across the crowded parking lot where I'd positioned my car, I could see the DeLand citizenry struggled in the heat, carrying their bundles and packages. But for a few moments, I could stop and rest, feeling the cooling support and comfort of so many fellow Christians who are holding this ministry up in prayer. When this quiet time had evaporated, I rolled up the window, started the car and got back into the square dance formation. It was time to move again. I'm so thankful that with the support of so many, I can continue to move forward with grace.
Original source: http://specialgathering.wordpress.com/?p=679
