Dressed for the Dance

Dressed for the Dance

(“Pharaoh sent at once for Joseph. He was brought hastily from the dungeon, and after a quick shave and change of clothes, came in before Pharaoh.” Genesis 41:14)

They told me it was ending, the time was closing in,
the final act was over, we waited for the epilogue.
We had heard the announcement for ages, for lifetimes,
for moments we wondered would ever end.

But we kept on dancing, with our without the band.

They told me it was time now, the auditions began,
the callbacks, the final chance to make the team,
to be called an actor, a thespian, a professional
at my craft.

But, I kept on dancing, and never heard their laughs.

They agreed I had talent, I read well, they said,
“You have presence, you have intensity,
your belief is suspended and your belt holds up your pants.”

And I kept on dancing, avoiding cracks to save my mama’s back.

Which is where it started, with her, with mom. I was groomed,
I was dressed, costumed and confessed I loved the stage and applause,
while I was shy as a turtle who dreams of going to school without its shell.
I had done well to fight my bashful nativity until a guerilla war
left me slow to trust and playing in the dust; a quiet corner of my
personal prison cell. Books don’t talk back; books serve as friendship well.

But I dressed for the dance, scrubbed my face, neck and ears;
washed the ancient cream-colored Bug and picked up my date who
helped me

Keep on dancing. Dressed in rags or royal, my estimation is this:
esteem can be beaten, but dancing is forever’s food; dance on,
dance on.

Scorched and Skillful

Scorched and Skillful

(“God was kind to us and had them send a skillful man named Sherebiah.” Ezra 8:18a)

The prairie was a wide putting green unwatered through the winter,
and crumbled bumps plowed weeds and wheat encircled the lot where
a few dozen hoped to raise a simple box of a building; gray and white
on the outside;
earth-tones within: forest green carpet with lines and leaves and branches
barely visible in the background underfoot,
adobe pink walls that dimmed to sandstone under the soft light,
white cathedral ceiling training the eye upward hoping for the
nonverbal
“ah”

Of comfort and reverence.

Ten years previous a parsonage sat on the same prairie
75 miles southeast. In an oasis of evergreens, and one night unoccupied,
current does what current does, taking the path of least resistance across
two wires with frayed insulation. Scorched, angry embers
blew from room to room, up bearing walls to ceiling tiles, only
to fall, a flat pancake of coal, square upon our 2 year old angel’s crib.

Non were hurt, nearly all was lost, and we had little to rebuild
lives we thought had dived into a crater lake of the unknown.

The prairie is a fair example; latest fall when brown lies upon brown,
gray dirt blows into gray dust bowls sometimes taking the tops of
storage sheds or mobile homes. That’s why they tie salvaged truck tires
to weight the light houses down.

Scorched, so the hairs on our arms curled up and singed,
eyebrows indiscernible, skin red, then purples as days progressed.

Scorched, so the memory turned a determined talent
into trade. Maybe the scars on the arms, the ache on the legs
are all the interpretation of Scripture one man needed to
point a living way over the piles of embers to the pains
of those who remember much the same. We remain
scarred, but, stepping out of the rubble into the next
man’s trouble
we are healing while…
we remain scarred.

All I Need

But the Lord said, “My grace is all you need. Only when you are weak can everything be done completely by my power.” So I will gladly boast about my weaknesses. Then Christ’s power can stay in me. 2 Corinthians 12:9

The beauty of Christ is seen no better than when set against the darkness of His followers’ struggles and weakness. Just as stars shine more brightly against a dark, rural sky, so those who trust Jesus in the midst of personal pain or hardship stand out more brilliantly than when all is well.

Spirit-Filled Work

“And (the Lord) has filled him (Bezalel) with the Spirit of God in skill, intelligence and knowledge to execute all craftwork.” Exodus 35:31

God called and enabled Bezalel, as well as others, to construct the Tabernacle which would represent God’s dwelling among His people as they wandered through the wilderness. I suspect, in God’s mind, this was the most important building project ever. The Tabernacle was not erected to honor a human king, as the pyramids, or a local deity. It was meant to be a meeting place for the Lord of All and His people. Everything about its construction, and every item in it all represented something about God’s character and how to approach Him.