Every year since that first year I have come to appreciate
CHB more and more. As I get to know
Damaris (the artistic director and my girls' teacher) better I love her more and more. The other teachers are great too:)
As a mom, I feel like I am a steward of these precious years with my
children. I want them to learn and grow
and develop talents. However, putting
them in the care of the right people to help them develop those talents is a
responsibility that I do not take lightly.
Part of me would selfishly love to keep them home with me all the time
where they will be happy and safe and always taught how wonderful they
are. There certainly are influences in
the world that I want to protect them from, but there are too many good people
who they can learn so much from. By
keeping them all to myself I would be denying them the opportunity to develop
those talents that are uniquely theirs as well as the opportunity to learn from
some wonderful people. I count Damaris
highly as one of those wonderful people.
Every time my girls enter her studio I know that they will come home
with more confidence not only as a dancer, but as a daughter of God. And it’s not because she preaches to them every
week:) It's simply through the way she interacts with them. The MBT mission statement states:
Metropolitan Ballet of Tacoma is dedicated to the passionate pursuit
of excellence in art of ballet and dance in an atmosphere that nurtures
the physical and spiritual development of individual dancers.
Although we do not attend the
same church, when I see her interact with her dancers I think of the theme that
the young women in our church recite each week: “We are daughters of our
Heavenly Father who loves us, and we love Him.
We will stand as witnesses of God at all times, and in all things, and
in all places…” She is an example of
that to all her dancers, and I love her for it.
Christmas is such a busy time of year. Every September/October when CHB auditions
roll around, I think of the extra rehearsals that it will require. As my kids get older there are so many more
things pulling at their time. I have
come to the conclusion that it does require a lot of time, but at least it’s a
lot of time spent thinking about the true meaning of Christmas. Aside from the final performance, I have seen
enough behind-the-scenes moments that reaffirm my convictions that this is a
wise use of our time. I have heard Damaris remind
the dancers repeatedly that the purpose of this dance was to bring glory to God
and to share the good news of the birth of Jesus Christ. I have received letters that were sent out to
all the parents inviting us to pray for her, the dancers, and the ballet that
it’s purposes may be fulfilled. I have
heard her tell the younger dancers that she will be praying for them, and I
know that she gathers together with the company dancers and prays before the
performance.
I have seen this recital probably 10 times now. Every time I pick up little things that I
hadn’t noticed before. It makes me think
of certain elements of the Nativity in ways that I hadn’t always
considered. This year I actually got a
little teary during the dance where Mary goes to visit Elizabeth and the joy
they had in seeing each other. I admit
to sometimes being a little envious of people who have sisters, but as I
watched the dance I was reminded how grateful I am for all the women in my
life: My mom, mother-in-law,
sister-in-laws, and dear friends who I love like sisters. I feel
so much joy when I am with them. I am
convinced that women need other women and I am so grateful for them.
The past couple of years I paid extra attention to the shepherds
dance because Sadie was one of the little sheep. Watching the shepherds guide
them along the stage was very sweet. Another
thing I love about MBT is the emphasis that is put on the company dancers being
role models for the school division. A
couple of alumni dancers came back for the performance and my girls squealed
when they saw them. I appreciated the
literal sense in which Sadie was being guided around the stage, but it also
made me grateful for all the many "shepherds" in our kids’ lives. Their teachers at school, church, extended
family, coaches, dance teachers, activity day leaders, my friends, their
friends parents…all those people who encourage them to do good. I am so grateful for them.
There is a townspeople dance that takes place in Bethlehem
when Mary and Joseph stop and play and dance with the village children. Although I am certain that that a laboring
Mary and a worried Joseph probably didn’t really stop to play and dance that
night, it made me think about the kind of people God would choose to raise his
son on Earth. Certainly the ability to
love children was high on the list. It
caused me to think about how I need to make sure creating happy moments with my
children stays high on my list of priorities, no matter how busy our family
gets.
Finally, the finale where Mary and Joseph come back out with
baby Jesus makes me cry every year. Silly me.
I knew that baby had just been hanging out backstage with his mom waiting
for his big debut. Still, it’s just
everything it represents. The hope that
came to the whole Earth with the birth of that little baby. The thoughts of everything that baby would
have to endure. For me. The thought that He volunteered to do
it. For me. The mom in me always thinks of Mary. The joy that she surely felt in His birth,
but also the sorrow that she would feel at the cross. Mostly though, I feel gratitude. I am so eternally grateful that God loved me
enough to send such a perfect gift. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever
believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16
Are these experiences worth a few extra hours of
rehearsals? Yeah. I think so.
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