Dancing in the Minefields

This has been a tough year for me, one of my hardest in fact. Losing my brother so suddenly has sent me reeling in ways that I could not plan for or anticipate. Grief is a strange thing in that way. As I am climbing out of the depths, I have decided to spend more time actively focusing on the best things in my life, both big and small.

To start out, I thought I would go with a super big thing and write a small thing about my wife and our partnership. You see, our marriage has been full of minefields, storms, chaos and shadows. But all that has seemed like nothing to fear, because i have her. As we approach our 15th wedding anniversary, I am struck for the millionth time how perfect she is for me, and thus, how perfect our partnership is. I do not use the word “perfect” in the sense that she or our marriage are without fault, because that would not be true. But, for me and what fuels my heart and soul, she truly is perfect. There is this song by Andrew Peterson that i have heard many times called “Dancing in the Minefields.” Tears stream down my face every single time I hear it because of how the lyrics reflect my heart for her. Here are a few of the verses:

Well, “I do” are the two most famous last words The beginning of the end But to lose your life for another I’ve heard Is a good place to begin ‘Cause the only way to find your life is to lay your own life down And I believe it’s an easy price For the life that we have found And we’re dancing in the minefields We’re sailing in the storms And this is harder than we dreamed But I believe that’s what the promise is for So when I lose my way, find me And when I loose love’s chains, bind me At the end of all my faith, till the end of all my days When I forget my name, remind me ‘Cause we bear the light of the Son of Man So there’s nothing left to fear So I’ll walk with you in the shadowlands Till the shadows disappear ‘Cause He promised not to leave us And His promises are true So in the face of all this chaos, baby, I can dance with you So let’s go dancing in the minefields Let’s go sailing in the storms Oh, let’s go dancing in the minefields And kickin’ down the doors Oh, let’s go dancing in the minefields And sailing in the storms Oh, this is harder than we dreamed but I believe that’s what the promise is for

So, through all the loss, the doctor’s appointments, the financial struggles, the daily frustrations and madness, there has also been so much wonderful. Being with you is the easiest thing I have ever done because you chase away my shadows and we just dance. Forever and ever, amen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Gs3fg_WsEg