April 2nd, 2009 by Kateastrophe

I wouldn’t say I hate country music, but I wouldn’t say I’m a huge fan either. Sometimes though, there are country songs who’s lyrics stick with you for life. John Michael Montgomery’s “Life’s a Dance” is one of those songs and lately the words are coming into my head more and more often, specifically one verse and the chorus:

The longer I live the more I believe
You do have to give if you wanna recieve
There’s a time to listen, a time to talk
And you might have to crawl even after you walk
Had sure things blow up in my face
Seen the longshot, win the race
Been knocked down by the slamming door
Picked myself up and came back for moreLife’s a dance you learn as you go
Sometimes you lead, sometimes you follow
Don’t worry about what you don’t know
Life’s a dance you learn as you go

Right now my life is (knock on wood) unbelievably, amazingly awesome. Sure there are speed bumps and trials that come my way every day, but overall? I am one of the luckiest people alive. I have the most supportive, kind, amazing husband a girl could ever ask for. I have the most amazing family members who inspire me every day. I have a group of strong, supportive, hilarious girlfriends that add more joy and spice to my life than I deserve. I have a job I enjoy, a home I love and a fast car that makes the endless traffic jams a little more fun.

I’m sure we’ve all noticed that, at the moment, there is a lot of extra misery in the world. This is a tough time for a lot (I mean A LOT) of people in more ways than I would have expected. I don’t know if it’s the economy or just one of those times in the lives of people I know and love that things are just HARD. Things are coming out of the woodwork that I never would have expected to see. It makes me very sad but it also in turn makes me count my blessings.

Part of counting my blessings for me has always been looking back over the hard times in my life and remembering how much I learned or grew – or both – from a particular experience. I probably haven’t shared much of it here, but I have had an . . . interesting life, to say the least. There have been so many times where I really, truly thought I might not make it through my trials and that I should just give up. Times where I was so broken I just knew without out a doubt I’d never be able to put the millions of tiny pieces back together to make a real person again. I have seen some of the lowest lows and yet, every single time, and not without help and support and in so many cases, miracles, I’m able to pick myself up and not only put myself back together – but actually find that me I’ve put back together is always a better version of myself. It’s like there’s a part of me that is newly bonded together so much more tightly that I know it will never again be able to be broken.

I think that’s why the song speaks to me. “You might have to crawl even after you walk . . . Picked myself up and came back for more . . . Don’t worry about what you don’t know, life’s a dance you learn as you go.”

My most favorite quote of all time is from C.S. Lewis’ “Mere Christianity:”

God’s work in our lives can be painful, but his ultimate goal is to transform us into something better.

Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what he is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on: you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised.

But presently he starts knocking that house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that he is building quite a different house from the one you thought of – throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor here, running up towers, making courtyards.

You thought you were going to be made into a decent little cottage: but he is building up a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself.

So I say to any of you who are hurting and broken and think you’re never going to be ok, please trust me when I say that you WILL put yourself back together and you WILL be better for it. It’s so cliché, but it is always darkest before the dawn. God is in the process of building His palace with you. I know it hurts right now but just wait until He’s done and you can take a step back and look at the amazing person He’s built. I promise you won’t be disappointed.