It’s a dreary gray day here in South Carolina. We need the rain and I’m loving the cooler weather. I’d probably be down with the gray skies too except it’s doing more pouting and looking gloomy than actually raining. Let’s get it going clouds!
It’s funny to me how much the weather can affect our moods. Every Wednesday when I would write the Wesley Weekly email to the students I finally realized I talk about the weather all the time. My desk faces some big windows so you see where mind is.
Right now I’m closing out our Summer newsletter getting ready for a conference and doing various crazy things that are on the never-ending to do list. But I’m reminded how easy it is to get derailed. You can get some bad news or read something on facebook or email or hear about a meeting where your name came up or remember something that can send your day in a spiral. Or you could in general not be feeling well or be in the midst of something that has you just feeling blah. Sometimes I’ll find myself not in the greatest of moods and I’ll have I try to remember – when did I start feeling this way? Is this just a general “funk” or did something prompt this?
We all have different triggers. Some of those are questions about the future or if we’re really living our vocation or what we’re called to do or money concerns or health concerns or family worries or whatever. There’s all sorts of anxieties and fears out there and it’s almost like the lie in wait for us in the shadows ready to jump is or being to creep in.
I have this funny suspicion that Jesus doesn’t want us to live a life of burdensome worries and mopey-ness. I’m not saying Jesus wants you to be sunshine and rainbows all the time and I totally believe he walks with us in the most mopey of mopeys, but I also think there are some days when we’ve just go to jam.
The song, “Tonight, Tonight” by Hot Chelle Rae keeps popping up on my radio and I keep playing it on my youtube at work. Don’t worry I haven’t watched all 5 million times that it says it’s been viewed. Do you ever just jam in your car when you hear a song that is just fun and funny and you just start dancing and digging it? Or have you ever done that with a group of friends or on a retreat or whatever? I distinctly have some of those memories with Faith Hill’s This Kiss and Macy Gray and the Dixie Chicks.
I’ve been playing this song, one to keep me moving and awake on this dreary day, but also because it’s fun to jam sometimes. Can you picture Jesus jamming along with you? A stretch? Maybe not. But I can totally feel like sometimes we just have to let go and get moving. Sometimes that means regrouping. Sometimes that means some new inspiration. Can you hear Jesus being the one that says, “Come on?” or “We can get crazy, let it all out.” Now I’m so not saying that this was the intent of this wonderful Hot Chelle Rae. Probably far from it.
But I am thankful for this sort of fun music that make you feel like you’re joining a live, active, vibrant party. It’s not always a party day, but I’d like to think that Jesus invites us to the dance and seeks to give us that abundant rockin’ life!
So if you come by office today, be prepared – you could see a very silly and terribly dancing Narcie. Join in. Dance. Have some fun. Even on a rainy day. Even the uncoordinated kids. Even the serious and grouchy among us. Even the ones that certainly don’t have time for this.
Join the dance.
And may that energy and passion and fun and levity and release and liberating feeling bleed over into our faith. Yep, life can be challenging at times, but it’s also awesome and amazing and so much to be thankful for! This isn’t a prosperity Gospel but it is join in on the freedom and contagious fun of life in Christ!
Blessings on the Journey 