Dancing in the New Year

Debbie, a member of our rural community, has organized a New Year's Eve party at the Hermann Sons Hall, the only building big enough for such an event. Events like this were once common in these parts, and tonight's party is an effort to bring back a part of the "good ol' days."

My wife and I have arranged to attend tonight's party. This will be the first New Year's Eve party for us in many years. There are several reasons why I'm excited about going: 1. It will be fun; my wife and I never get to do stuff like this. 2. We'll get to hang out with people in our community. 3. The last time I went to the community tavern on a Saturday night, nearly everyone I saw in there showed up for church on Sunday morning, and maybe going to the party tonight will have a similar result tomorrow morning. (One can hope.)

Last Tuesday, once we had the babysitting arrangements all figured out, we purchased our tickets....

On Wednesday, I stopped by Debbie's house, and she greeted me with a smile and said, "So, are you ready to boogie Saturday night?"

For a second, I just stared at her. Dance? Me? "Oh, I don't know about that!" I answered. Then I wondered to myself, What was I expecting? That we would sit around and stare at each other all night? A dancer I am not, at least not when it comes to what is usually considered dancing these days: freestyle, do-what-you-want type dancing. The only time I ever dance is when I counsel church camp, and that's because there, nobody cares how you dance.

Debbie turned to Chris, 16, who's visiting from New Mexico and happened to be with me. "Don't worry," she said, "I'll be sure to get him with the video camera."

So now I'm a little scared. Maybe a couple of glasses of wine will help. Oh, but wait, I'm the pastor, how would that look?

Pray for me!