One Turned Back: Mrs. Debbie

I am sitting in the lobby watching my boys practice their jab, cross, and jump kicks. The katas resemble dances and they play music to help them find their rhythm. My mind floats back to the adult classroom of CCC. I am lining up with my pink ballet slippers, holding onto a metal chair, and learning how to sachet across the floor.

She would gather us in a circle and ask us to listen to a piece of classical music. I would close my eyes and the music would sing stories of valiant knights, princesses, and dragons. When the music would get joyful, I would see the sun bursting from behind the clouds. Then she would hand me a scarf and we would “improvise” and I would dance the story in my mind. I adored her.

In my dressup box I still have the ballet wrap skirts she made for our performances. In the middle of superheroes, dragons, and pirate costumes is a white dress with the iridescent sequins made lovingly by Debbie’s hands almost thirty years ago. It is still being worn by princesses surrounded by knights.

Whenever I hear a song from Michael Card like “Joy in the Journey.” I remember joining hands and making a circle with Corrie, Suzanna, and Amy. Debbie helped internalize the thought that everything you do, you should do it for the glory of God. Whether you eat, drink, dance, cook, sing, or write, do it as an act of worship.

I also remember writing a thank you note to Debbie when I graduated high school and left for Union. She responded that the Lord had put it on her heart to send me money from time to time. My freshman year she sent me checks and letters of encouragement. I still have one of the cards she sent me framed, it was a picture by Marc Chagall, an artist that I had long admired. Her letters encouraged me during a very lonely time. Her checks often made the difference between eating only Ramen and eating vegetable stir-fry, or washing my clothes in the sink or in a washing machine. When I experienced financial and emotional stability, her letters and checks stopped. Isn’t God great?

God often uses his church to meet needs. It was her obedience to his calling that met my needs. As I turn back, I know that God placed Debbie in my life, and one day (even if it is after this life) I plan on dancing with her before the throne of God.