I remember when I first started dancing salsa... As a hip hop dancer, I thought I already knew it all and could move to the beat better than most. Apparently that wasn't good enough for salsa... The only "partner" dancing I was familiar with at that point was "bump and grind", so needless to say, I had to start from scratch... At first, to me, salsa was all about the steps: the basics, the turns, the combinations... Later, I realized that it's all about being a good follow, which comes from something far more important than knowing the steps - a connection with your partner. That connection was something I was always fighting in other dances, but since it wasn't quite so physically intimate in salsa, I was OK in making it there (since I only danced with my friends anyway), thus becoming a better dancer.
It took me a bit longer to make that connection in bachata, and what it finally came down to was who I dance with. Since I already have a natural connection with my friends, the guys I know, love and respect, I feel safe letting down my guard and allowing myself to connect with them during the dance. I'd still never dance a bachata with a stranger though... Blues is the same way... I'm cool dancing and goofing around with my friends, but I can't get that close and personal with people I don't share affection with on a regular basis.
Let's switch over to tango now, this incredibly beautiful, complex, and difficult dance I've been trying to learn lately... I really must give it full credit for breaking down my physical comfort zone. I guess once you do the close embrace you don't go back... Anyway, the physical closeness is not the problem... My insecurities about not knowing what I'm doing are... I'm so focused on getting all the steps right, I'm distracted from what's really important: the music and the actual "connection" with my partner... Letting him move me...
It's the same in our relationship with God... Sometimes we can be so focused on getting all the "steps" right in our walk with Him, that we forget about the connection... Dancing to the music of His love... Letting Him move us, letting His love compel us... Isn't that what it all was meant to be about? The fear of our inadequacies will always break that connection... We are not always going to do/say/think/feel the right thing... Mistakes are bound to happen, but it's the connection that will keep Him and I together, and that connection can only come out of a relationship of trust. Trust in His character, His nature, His love, His Word, His promise... Dancing with Jesus is like dancing with a best friend... I know Him and He knows me, fully and completely, so it's a great dance everytime :P!
