091307

November 13, 2007

Get Up and Dance!

by Shana Schutte

In his book, Better Than Good, Zig Ziglar tells the story of attending his three-year-old granddaughter's dance recital. Zig watched as a group of little "pixies" fumbled through their performance but didn't have a clue they were messing up. They were too busy having a great time and had also never been introduced to the word "failure."

I love that, don't you? Kids don't know that failure is a part of life until someone tells them so. But until then, they sing--but poorly; they dance--but without rhythm; they tell jokes that aren't funny, and draw pictures like Picasso. But still, when you smile and say, "You're amazing!" they'll look at you, just like my five-year-old niece, and say, "I know."

Sadly, something happens along the journey from being a kid to an adult, doesn't it? We forget that foibles while we're dancing toward God's dreams for our lives are okay, and that failure always precedes success. After all, every human being fell before they could walk and jabbered before they could talk. Why do we think that things should be different as we age? If we don't make mistakes, we have ceased to learn. And if we insist on perfection, we may never start on the journey toward our God-given purpose.

Sometimes our fears are so great that we never start a project without absolute certainty of success. Fear of failure will always destroy motivation and productivity. Unfortunately, God doesn't give us guarantees; but He does give us Himself, because He's interested in developing our faith. We can always count on His presence (Hebrews 13:5).

Dare to be like Zig's granddaughter and dance toward God's purposes, even though you feel like you'll fumble all the way to heaven. If you practice long enough, God will teach you, and you'll be better than you ever imagined!

"You stoop down to make me great" (Psalm 18:35).

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