Years ago when I was randomly dating pretending to find “the one”, I would often meet someone and be overly optimistic about their potential. I never was really looking for “the one” but every one I dated was run through my internal scantron checking system to see if they were “it!” If they didn’t quite fit I either adjusted the scantron or created imaginary traits. My mother called this my dreamer side, or sometime more accurately my delusional side. The last few weeks I keep hearing the song I Hope You Can Dance by Lee Ann Womack….I flash back to dating 10 year ago, hoping, wishing, and praying for someone to take these lyrics to heart. For a short period of time they made up a majority of my scantron.
I hope you never lose your sense of wonder
You get your fill to eat but always keep that hunger
May you never take one single breath for granted
God forbid love ever leave you empty-handed
I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean
Whenever one door closes I hope one more opens
Promise me that you’ll give faith a fighting chance
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance, I hope you dance
As I heard the song reappear on the radio recently, I realized I married a man who dances. Not occasionally but every day. Since we first met I have been in awe of his sense of wonder. He is intrigued by life, fascinated by people and has a hunger for the new… new people, new projects, new information, new adventures. He takes nothing for granted, walks humbly before the Lord and every day, every single day strives to be a better person. And he dances…he enjoys…boldly, unabashedly, enthusiastically and with both feet in the water. Sometimes he’s a bit messy splashing in the water…like Gene Kelly in Singing in the Rain, jumping on and off the sidewalk, but you can’t truly dance without some sense of abandon. I approach both life and people with caution. Mick is fearless. He gives freely of himself, his love, his knowledge, his joy.
I hope you never fear those mountains in the distance
Never settle for the path of least resistance
Living might mean taking chances but they’re worth taking
Lovin’ might be a mistake but it’s worth making
Don’t let some hell-bent heart leave you bitter
When you come close to selling out reconsider
Give the heavens above more than just a passing glance
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance, I hope you dance
God has so blessed me by connecting me to a man so different from myself…one who takes me in his arms and dances me through the streets, across the bridges, away from my fears and always with the most gentle and greatest love. He is my greatest blessing each and every day.
