Advent reminds me of a time when You showed up for me.
When I was two years old, I started dancing. I danced ballet, hip hop, lyrical, and tap for many years. I stopped this past summer to join a ballet folklorico dance troop. I’ve wanted to learn ballet folklorico since I was four years old. My goal was to dance on stage at the annual Dia de los Muertos festival.
At first, I felt fine about leaving my old dance group because I knew I had wanted to do this type of dance for a long time. I was dying to learn. When I started dancing ballet folklorico, it felt amazing, like I had finally accomplished a little bit of my goal. I was learning a new dance routine, and only had three lessons before I would be performing it at the festival. I was feeling really good about myself because it felt like I was closer to my goal.
During the second rehearsal, I was feeling confident, until I tripped on a piece of wood and fell. When I fell, it felt like someone had pushed me. In reality, my shoe got caught on debris from the dance floor. I felt confused. I was thinking, “Why did that happen?” and, “Why did that hurt so much?”. I was so embarrassed. Before I fell, I felt peaceful, but afterwards, I felt ashamed.
At that moment, I knew You were with me through the parents that were there. They asked if I was ok and complimented me on my dancing. Some parents got up to check on me. My mom started to sprint over, but she saw me get up and keep going. I did not skip a beat, got right back up, and kept dancing. The parents were so surprised!
When they saw me get up immediately, their expressions showed me they were shocked. That made me feel more confident. After class was over, some of the parents were impressed and my mom said she was proud of me. When we got home, I told my dad, and he said, “Good job.”
Finally, the day came to perform our routines, and it went great! I felt like I accomplished my goal, because I had. That made me feel even better than when I started dancing. I knew You were with me on that day because I had the support of my family, friends, my teachers, their families, and the other parents. I would like to tell You thank you for everything you have done for everyone, including me. I love You, Jesus. You inspire me to keep trying my best and to be myself.
Shaeleigh Dolloff is ten years old and in the fourth grade. She enjoys reading historical fiction, graphic novels, and mystery books.