As though no one is watching

It is almost always acceptable to dance.

Especially when you're in your own little world at a high school football game.

Last Friday, I filled in as the drill team director for my friend/co-worker and got to experience yet again all that embodies Friday Night Lights. I love attending sporting events, and I think it's fun to be surrounded by so much cheering and support from fans who adore their teams.

And I love seeing someone dance as if no one is watching.

I'm sure many people have heard the saying, "Dance as though no one is watching you; love as though you have never been hurt before; sing as though no one can hear you; live as though heaven is on earth." It was quite refreshing to be able to see someone living out the first part of that quote Friday night, and I think it's something I really needed to see.

God always places the right people in our lives when we need them most.

It was nearing the end of the game, and I was exhausted. It had been such a long and chaotic week, and all I really wanted was to be at home asleep in my bed. But that was hours away. I was trying to keep my spirits up, when I happened to glance over to a part of the stadium where there was absolutely no one in the bleachers. The band was playing, and there was a young girl all by herself dancing to the music. And, when I say dancing, I mean really dancing. She was so full of passion and carefree regard for anything around her that I just couldn't help but stop and take in this scene.

Just dance

It was beautiful.

I was reminded in that moment how important it is to find joy in every situation in life and how essential it is to dance when we need to dance. It doesn't matter what people think of you; it doesn't matter how silly you might look; it doesn't matter how much work you have waiting for you when you get home or go into the office next; it doesn't matter what bills you haven't paid yet; it doesn't matter what problems you haven't solved or stresses you haven't managed to assuage; it doesn't matter what loads of laundry haven't been done or what dishes haven't been washed; it doesn't matter that you have no idea where you're going or what you're ultimately doing in life.

All that matters is that you dance in that moment.

That little girl gets it—sometimes you just have to dance without worrying about everything going on around you. God provides those opportunities for us, and we need to take them. Life can't always be so serious and so focused on mundane things that ultimately don't matter once we leave this place. It also didn't matter one bit to her what anyone watching her thought. Who cares? If I thought she was ridiculous, she'd still keep dancing; if I thought she was awesome, she'd still keep dancing.

I hope she grows up to love just like she dances: wildly, boldly, and honestly.

I know I don't always dance enough, and I certainly don't always love enough. It's so easy to get caught up in our own anxieties and forget about what really matters: love. Work and chores and money and lack of money and unnecessary drama and traffic stresses and living situations and life changes and anger and sadness and self ambitions and a countless amount of other distractions constantly get in the way of us doing what we're actually supposed to do the most in life. But seeing someone dance as if no one else in the world were anywhere near is a great reminder of how we should be living.

Wildly, boldly, honestly.