This weekend, I saw a little boy, maybe about three or four, stand up on his pew and dance. Maybe he shouldn’t have been standing up on it, especially during church, but I couldn’t help think that we should all be dancing like that kid without any idea of what we look like or if it’s wrong.

Dancing seems to be reserved for those special occasions such as weddings and proms or reserved for dance studios or shows like “So You Think You Can Dance” and “Dancing with the Stars.” But really, we should dance whenever we get a good grade, when we’ve accomplished something difficult, when we’ve secured a job, when we feel happy. We should dance like the hard-working moms and grandmas in Mamma Mia who leave their tasks and skip down the path just because they want to.

And in honor of Thanksgiving coming up, we should dance for what we are thankful for. We should dance for the food in our belly. We should dance in remembrance of people and times gone and we should dance for forgiveness. We should dance for love. We should dance.

When I was little, the priest in my church always invited the kids to dance down the aisle with him. I didn’t always join the group, but when I did, I felt my heart lift a little bit for a least a small amount of time. Back then, I danced because I loved it. When I was part of a dance studio, I danced for an audience as well as myself.

But now, I dance for myself in the living room and the kitchen. I dance for joy when something good happens. I dance to make me feel better. When I dance, I try to suspend that moment and try not to think about the homework or the work that I have to do. I try to dance like that kid on the pew.

I hope you dance. Because “Life is not waiting for the storm to pass. It’s about learning to dance in the rain.”