The Dance

Happy New Year! Please allow me to share a small, special anecdote from my time in Barcelona with my lovely friend and fellow YAV, Anna.

I'll basically be copying these words from my journal, with a few embellishments.

December 31st, 2012. New Year's Eve Day.

Just had the perfect afternoon in Barcelona with Anna. I slept in, catching up on all the missed rest that comes with a crazy Christmas season, and then we picked up a feast at the market across the street from the hostel: mystery egg(?) sandwich, "AFRICA" (mystery mix of spicy corn nuts & stuff), banana, and a Dairy Milk OREO chocolate bar (aka HEAVEN).
We took a leisurely stroll around the city and all of a sudden Sagrada Familia appeared before me! As we approached the cathedral, comfortable and munching and talking beneath the beauty and quirkiness of the ever-under-construction wonder before us, we noticed a group of people gathered off to our left. 

A ring of about 20 people were doing a simple dance, clapping and stepping in a rhythm around 3 guitarists in the center of the ring. We couldn't understand the language they were singing in, but it looked like fun and a lot of people were standing around watching and recording the spectacle on their camera phones. Anna and I hung back for a while, but it was obvious we secretly wanted to join in. We couldn't resist! So we jumped into the circle and clapped and tried to get our feet to match their feet. Even though we couldn't sing along, neither Anna nor I stopped smiling the entire time.

And then a beautiful girl with a tambourine next to me asked,  
"¿Cómo se llama?" 
To which I eloquently replied, 
"Uhhhhh..." 
(trying to remember my non-existent Spanish... I think that means "What is your name?") 
"Uh, Grace?"
 At which point the tambourine girl figured out that I probably didn't speak Spanish.
"Do you speak English?"
(Gee, how could you tell? )
"Yes." 
We danced for a while and then we struck up a broken conversation again, in which I told her that Anna and I were wondering what "this" (with a gesture encompassing the dancers, the musicians, and the crowd of spectators) was all about.
She paused, and in her limited English she explained in the best way she could:

"Do you believe in God?" 

I think my heart skipped a beat.
I nod, "Yeah..."
And we continue to dance. That was the only explanation that was needed.

In that moment, I was struck with this EPIPHANY:
Christian life, Christian community, is like this big dance, this big messy celebration. People on the outside kind of wonder what it's all about, and maybe don't understand the language or the steps, but recognize the joy on the faces of the dancers and sometimes they can't help but jump into the dance.
Anna's addition to the metaphor: When new dancers jump in, they don't know the steps so they need others to teach them, and they in turn teach new dancers when they jump in. Everyone has a role in the circle.

Do you believe in God?

That is why we dance.