We often talked about what we could do together outside of work.  I was the director of Spiritual Formation and she was the Director of Worship Arts; our schedules were crazy. We could never seem to get our act together.  Finally, we decided to spend the day Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park about thirty miles away which boasted sprawling botanical gardens, a tropical conservatory, outdoor sculptures, and indoor art exhibits.

The day finally came. We felt like kids skipping school.  When we got to the park we decided to spend a few hours “on retreat” and then meet for lunch in the lovely restaurant graced with spectacular chiefly glass sculpture hanging from the ceiling.

I wandered through the gardens and then headed toward a large man-made waterfall that I remembered from past visits.  I was dismayed to see that the waterfall had been “closed” for maintenance.  I sat on a bench under a tree close by intending to read, but I soon put the book down and watched the families and couples and senior citizens walking by. I thought happily that I was living in the now.

Soon it was time to rejoin Cathy for lunch.  As I headed back toward the restaurant, I saw her coming toward me, barefoot and exuberant. I grinned back at her. “What have you been doing?” I asked.

“I’ve been dancing for the Lord,” she said excitedly. “What?” I responded in disbelief. “Where?”  She led me down the path to the broad terraced meadow that was the seating for the seating for the amphitheater and pointed to a splendid stage. “There!  I saw the stage and I had music on my iPod so I decided to dance to the 23rd Psalm.” Nothing moves me more than Cathy’s sacred dancing, and I fervently wished I had been there.  “Do it again,” I pleaded.

She looked at me in disbelief.  “It wasn’t for people to see.  It was for the Lord!”

image of dining area by meijergardens.com;    image of amphitheater  by meijergardens. wordpress.com