Microwaves and Dancing

I’m not really a simple person, if such a thing truly exists. I am introspective, and by turns excitable, melancholy, nostalgic, thoughtful and plenty of other things. I enjoy the little things, or I try to, but I’m also a big picture guy. I know that when I’m unhappy, the thing that helps most is God’s reassurance that He’s always with me.

But also, in the idea that all good things are from above, I’ve found brief interludes of dancing, or rather my restricted parody of dancing, to be very enjoyable, particularly in that interminable matter or minutes or seconds while waiting for the microwave to go off.

I use our microwave plenty, in the odd-but-typical human fashion. It’s routine, drudgery, like a lot of things, but it’s also an opportunity. When work has been especially boring and not fulfilling, when things don’t go as I’d hope they would, when I don’t feel content, when I think for the millionth time what I’d do if I had a bunch of money or where I’d travel if I had time and said money, when the Royals bleepin’ $11 million dollar middle reliever (Ol’ Gil) gives up a home run in a tie game (and it’s September and I’ve yet to find something better to do than watch it), sometimes, perhaps ridiculously, the soul feels like moving a bit.

Now, the word “dancing” should be put in quotes in this context, as my movements are quite limited, like I’m balancing a cup of water on my head, or emulating my athletic hero Steve Young, who joked about dancing in a chair (all upper body). In most situations, I’m not a big dancing fan. But it’s the understated dancing that fits me. It’s about the act, not the production.

And it’s usually to equally ridiculous songs, really anything with a good beat, like if you were asked to play music that sounded optimistic. Lloyd Price’s “Personality,” that bouncy song from the NFL commercial with all the personalized Drew Brees jerseys, is a good fit. Same for Merle Haggard’s classic “Rainbow Stew,” a song synonymous with Ben Herrold among my friends. Shooter Jennings’ “Solid Country Gold.” Maybe even some Statler Brothers. And, of course, my wonderful college fight songs. Sometimes I play the songs on the laptop, sometimes I sing my own music, sometimes it’s all in my head.

I heard a song called “Let Us Love,” on the radio the other day, and today, by some band called Needtobreathe (apparently a space bar was broken at some point). I thought to myself, now that’s good microwave dancing music. It just rolls. Nice words, too, as a bonus.

So, if you find yourself with 45 seconds (slice of pizza), 2:20 (hot chocolate) or 4-5 minutes (frozen vegetables, steaming in the bag) to kill, move the hips a bit and get the most out of your varying times with some "dancing," to the irritation of Baptists. Live life all out, and have some fun. No, I'm not always in a dancing mood, in fact often I'm not; but remember, the good things are from above, and He's always with you (Isaiah 41).