Dancing with Daddy

Cinderella dreams came to life for one wonderful evening in our small town this past weekend.

Little girls decked in bows and lace, sequins and smiles danced the night away with the love of their lives: their daddies.  The roomy business pavilion-turned-ballroom was packed shoulder-to-shoulder as dads and daughters twirled and twisted through the night.

I’m not sure who had more fun in our family- our resident prince whose funky kitchen-floor dance moves have made him famous in our own little castle-or his dazzling blond dates who savored every part of the evening’s twinkle-toed extravaganza.

“Well, with me and my little sister,” Lizzy responded.

The inquirer raised her eyebrow and then commented smugly, “Too bad you have to share the dance with your sister. Does she just want to do all the baby moves?”

I bit my tongue in an attempt to silence the mommy-bear growling in my mind. What are baby moves anyway?

But then my firstborn girl squelched the dis-your-sister flame before it spread into a cynical fire.

“It’s no big deal,” Liz said with a shrug of her slight shoulders.

“My Dad loves us both. And he dances totally different with each

of us.”

As the chatter turned to the upcoming soccer game and the social studies test in the morning, I turned my attention to the popcorn machine in need of cleaning. And I hoped that my precious girl wouldn’t spot her mommy’s tears.

Every song you love, every memory you cherish, every moment that has moved you to Holy tears has been given to you from the One who has been pursuing you from your first breath in order to win your heart. God’s versions of flowers and chocolates and candlelight dinners comes in the form of sunsets and falling stars, moonlight on lakes and cricket symphonies; warm wind, swaying trees, lush gardens, and fierce devotion.”

As my earthly bridegroom of seventeen years waltzed out the door on Friday evening with two of my most precious treasures,  I wanted to join the fancy trio and soak up the special night’s melody of joy. But when my girls waved their painted nails from the backseat of their daddy’s lumbering SUV, I simply returned their flamboyant gestures with a smile and a prayer…

“Will you woo them, too, Jesus? With sunsets and starry nights and a romance designed just for their tender hearts. Please invite my daughters to dance and never let them go!”

The Overflow: You have stolen my heart, my sister, my bride.
-Song of Songs 4:9