The dance

Thirty six years ago we came home from Uganda. We had been there almost 2 years, having arrived shortly after Idi Amin was overthrown. We had been married 2 years. We had gone as mission partners to the Church of Uganda, with a view to staying for life. The dance of life intervened and we had a stillbirth, Aaron, and had to return on medical grounds as the place we were staying was in the grips of a severe famine. We never returned. We have since been blessed with 2 boys, the younger of which had his birthday today. He's 29.  During our 40 years of marriage that dance of life has been played out, sometimes it was like a samba, sometimes a quick step,  often it was a slow shuffle. One or twice it has been a dirge. The picture today is of a carving from ebony wood which we brought back from Uganda. It depicts a series of men, entangled, each looking to move ahead, as  individuals, clambering over one another in an attempt to make ground. To win the dance competition. Not recognising that it is a dance which involves groups, families and not just individuals. There is a danger in dancing alone. The call to all of us is to live in relation to others. To find our true self only in that congregational dance. Join the dance.