We are continuing today with the thoughts of my fourteen year old daughter. She wrote this speech for a competitive tournament, where she was able to wear her pointe shoes as the “prop” in her motivational speech category. I love sharing this with all of you moms because where there are princesses, there inevitably are ballerinas. They just seem to go hand in hand. So enjoy the perspective of this ballerina who has learned everything she needs to in this life in her ballet class!
Shining through it all
All my life, I have heard “Point your feet! “Stay off your heels” “Get your eyes off the floor” “Smile” and “Dance beyond your bubble” and many more sayings my dance teachers drill in our heads. In each saying, I see an analogy for life and living for Jesus.
Ms. Kelly, my dance instructor, says “Dance to the tips of your fingers and toes”. What she means by this is to shine your light through your fingers and toes. In other words, show your energy and shine your light to the world.
As Christians, Jesus tells us to “Let your light so shine before me, that they may see your good works and glorify you Father which is in heaven”. There was no better example of this than Amy Carmichael, missionary and poet. In 1895, Amy Carmichael traveled to India to be a light to people there. She preached the gospel and many girls came to the Lord. She then saved the girls from the Hindu community by taking them in and making an orphanage.
Have you ever read any of her books? Well, in her latter years, she became bedridden for over twenty years, but that did not put out her light. Here is a quote from one of her books:
“If when I am able to discover something which has baffled others, I forget Him who revealeth the deep and secret things, and knoweth what is in the darkness and showeth it to us; if I forget that it was He who granted that ray of light to His most unworthy servant, then I know nothing of Calvary love.”
She wrote 16 of the most influential and inspiring books of her time, influencing many to shine their lights – including Jim and Elisabeth Elliot, who were missionaries that sacrificed their lives in the jungles of Panama to spread the gospel of Christ. Both Amy Carmichael and the Elliots motivate me to shine my light in this world for God by “Dancing to the tips of my fingers and toes”!
So as you can see we all need a Ms. Kelly in our lives to teach us and inspire us to push through daily life to excel in the gifts that God has given us. I want you to dance with me in this world. I don’t expect you to really dance ballet with me, but I want to you to see dancing as an analogy for how we can live our lives for Christ.
Danika Young is fourteen years old and is the daughter of Bruce and Jeanna Young. She is homeschooled and lives in Southern California. Not only is she a ballerina and a speech and debate enthusiast, she loves art, fashion and baking. She placed in the finals and semi-finals in STOA speech competitions this year and hopes to continue competing next year.
