Psalm 133:1 
How good and pleasant it is 
when God’s people live together in unity! (NIV)

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I danced my first-ever ballet moves last night. 

This was not optional behavior. It followed a fifteen-minute session of dancing to the Bluey theme song, while substituting the names of our granddaughters, my wife, and me. 

If a little girl has ever handed you a banana to use as a telephone, you understand what was going on in our house last night. The four-year-old and the one-and-a-half-year-old were completely in control of what was going on here in our home. This was after the tea party where we spilled water all over the table, the floor, and ourselves. 

This was after our dinner of leftover pastrami and sauerkraut and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. There might have also been some children’s nutrition pouches and a popsicle or two in the mix. How could we not dance afterward? 

The toddler directed us onto the dance floor. We don’t really have a dance floor. I am a Baptist preacher, you know. We just have an open space in the living area where it was conducive to hearing the Bluey theme song, singing it loudly, and dancing to it. 

It’s amazing how quickly a senior adult can get tired from such activities. Children and toddlers do not. And so the ballet lessons included all of us, including the one who has never, ever, ever attempted a ballet move in his life. This may have something to do with the condition of my lower back this morning. Of course, my back condition also may have something to do with the fact that we were rear-ended in traffic a few days ago. 

This I can say for sure: our house was the most joyful house in our neighborhood last night. I kept waiting for the neighbors to call and tell us to turn down the volume on the laughter. We were probably disturbing other people’s meals and such. But boy, were we having a good time!

We could probably earn some big bucks by renting out our toddler. She is a bundle of fun and games. As long as she is awake, she wants to be moving, dancing, running, playing, and eating a banana, or her new preference, an apple. 

She is well known for eating apples while walking, running, playing, and dancing. That much energy requires much refueling. 

Moments on the dance floor like last night gave me a little glimpse of heaven. It’s moments like those when time stands still, when you lose track of time, when you don’t think about time at all, when everything is soaked in laughter, when joy is evident on every face. 

Sweet dreams are made from moments like these. 

It’s also hard not to get along when everyone’s dancing and laughing. Unity, harmony, and love go together so very well. 

I wonder what political advertisements would be like if candidates danced and sang more and promised to fight less.

Just a thought.

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I will sing, dance, laugh, and experience a little bit of heaven on earth with those Jesus said make up his kingdom.

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Our Father, thank you for the simple pleasures and the deep joys of playing, laughing, and dancing with children. Thank you for my aching back and happy memories this morning. Thank you for a little bit of heaven on earth. Amen.