Broken Glass Dance

Psalm 51:8

New International Version (NIV)

8 Let me hear joy and gladness;

    let the bones you have crushed rejoice.

Philippians 4:4

New International Version (NIV)

Final Exhortations

4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!

Isaiah 61:3

New International Version (NIV)

3     and provide for those who grieve in Zion—

to bestow on them a crown of beauty

    instead of ashes,

the oil of joy

    instead of mourning,

and a garment of praise

    instead of a spirit of despair.

They will be called oaks of righteousness,

    a planting of the Lord

    for the display of his splendor.

“Joy is the infallible sign of the presence of God.” 

― Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

I learned today with some sadness that the college campus where I finished out my schooling is closing.  It is a satellite campus located in an inner city neighborhood in Philadelphia.  It was my one experience with urban living, a complete cultural shift for me, and a place of blessing as well as learning.  While there, I took the bus back and forth to my part-time job in Philadelphia's Center City.  One trip, as the bus drove past an abandoned, hardscrabble yard consisting more of dirt and rocks than grass and nearly surrounded by a broken chain link fence, I saw a sight that forever changed me, beauty where I thought it could never be.  A group of girls were in a circle singing out rhymes, clapping and spinning, jumping and dancing all on broken shards of glass; and I marveled.   In the years since then I've learned that walking with Jesus may be a call to walk in brokenness, in pain and heartache, and not just to walk but also to dance.   Yes, dance we can as beloved children of God who always know His presence. 

The Afters - Broken Hallelujah (Official Lyric video)