Dancing at the nursing home

Each month the ladies’ Bible study I attend goes to sing at a local nursing home.  My kids and I try to attend as often as possible.  It is neat to be able to recognize faces and develop a familiarity with the residents.  There is one lady in particular who just glows with this eternal smile on her face.  She laughs at all our guitarist’s jokes, sings all the songs and avidly catches each of our eyes.

We went this last Thursday to do our regular singing, which was nice because we’d missed the month prior due to illness.  Then yesterday we went so Madi could dance with her dace classmates for the residents.  When Madi dances, she has something in common with that sweet woman.  She smiles.  And her smile is winning.  Dancing in front of strangers in a new setting can be unsettling.  Many girls concentrate to deliver the best dance they can.  That often means their faces have expressions of concentration or nervousness, rather than smiles.  They are fun to watch, because you find yourself intently rooting for them.

Madi needs compassionate audiences who root for her, but you won’t see that on her face.  What you will always see when she dances is that smile.  I realize I am biased, but I think it is contagious.  Yesterday I got to see two of the most joyful smiles in the same room.  Picture superhero sparks starting in the room, but growing beyond the bounds of the building, the whole block lighting up from these two delicate daughters of Christ, young and old.  What a blessing to witness!