I think there’s a lot of things we take for granted in life. And I even think we oftentimes know that we take them for granted, and the fact that we know we do, somehow makes it ok.
My sister-in-law loves to watch Dancing with the Stars, and last night I sat down to watch it with her. There were numerous couples all decked out and lovey-dovey with each other, each one so proud of their performance. I love to dance, so I can appreciate their enjoyment. But towards the end of the competition, something turned the show from entertaining…to inspiring.
A young girl and her partner stood on the dance floor as the story of her journey began to unfold. How prior to the show, she had been crippled for ten years, in a state of vegetation. Slowly she did get better, and advanced into a wheelchair, but still unable to walk. Her story included pictures and very personal moments from her past, and you would not have even recognized her if you hadn’t known it was her. It was like watching a movie develop, waiting for the conclusion. But as she stood in ready mode to glide across the dance floor, you knew how it ended. Or so you thought.
As you watched her flow to the rhythm of the music and match each move her partner led her into, you didn’t even think of her story, you were mesmerized by her every step, her smile, her energy. Her spirit was absolutely contagious!
At the end of the dance, the host asked her to explain the information she’d previously shared about not being able to feel her legs, questioning, “Is it like not being able to feel pins and needles on your legs?” – “No,” she explained, “it’s like dancing blindfold from the waist down. I can’t feel anything at all. So if I fall, please forgive me.”
My first thought was, “I know so many people that won’t get on the dance floor for one reason or another, yet here she was ready to take the risk of falling, asking her partner for forgiveness ahead of time if she fell and embarrassed him. She was willing to take the risk of falling down in front of countless viewers.
Her smile told of a life that had beaten the odds. And when she victoriously stated, “This is for ME, this is to prove to those who gave up on me and ‘wrote me off’ that I made it”…. it made chills run through your heart.
So many things crossed my mind during her story. My sister-in-law immediately said to me “Go get your laptop, I can see your mind working on what you want to say about this.”
Funny things is, my mind was dumbfounded. I didn’t know what to say. What do you say about someone who has beaten the odds. Who has risen above and overcome to do the inconceivable, attained the unattainable. A portion of the old gospel song ‘Victory in Jesus’ came to mind:
I heard about His healing,
Of His cleansing pow’r revealing.
How He made the lame to walk again
And caused the blind to see;
And then I cried, “Dear Jesus,
Come and heal my broken spirit,”
And somehow Jesus came and bro’t
To me the victory.
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Haven’t danced in a while? Maybe it’s time you did. Let the miracle be within you.
Autumn C.
©;2017; Autumn Carpentier;‘All rights reserved’