Studio Poles by Mary Ebersole

Today’s guest blogger is Mary Ebersole. Mary teaches mathematics at several colleges and universities in San Antonio.  She graduated from Texas Lutheran College and University of Texas Arlington.  When she is not teaching, she is a competitive ballroom dancer and in her free time spends time with good friends and her two adult sons. 

“Come,” Jesus said.  Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus.  But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!”  (Matthew 14:29-30)

Peter saw it happen.   They all did.  They did not have to wonder or doubt believing it—they saw it.  They watched as a grown man defied the laws of matter and walked on water.   Everyone in the boat saw it.  But, Peter— Peter wanted to do it, too.  And he did.  He proved that it actually could be done.  He walked on the water.  But it did not last long.  Very quickly, he sank.  Was he not balanced enough?  Was he too heavy?  (We have heard speculations about his large stature.)  Was his technique off, in need of tweaking?  A few seconds before, he was doing it!   He was above, not floating, but walking on the water!  Then, the wind blasted stronger and he … was blown over?  No, it wasn’t the wind that sank Peter; it was his focus.  He took his eyes off the Savior and looked at the wind and waves, his adversaries, and began to sink like a rock.

At the beginning, his focus was on the amazing feat of Jesus (pun intended).   He saw, and he kept watching, as he climbed out and began to walk himself.  Then trouble threatened and he allowed his focus to waiver.  The winds blew menacingly and managed to distract him.  And he let them.  He was afraid, as he momentarily turned his focus to the scary storm.  Good thing he remembered Jesus was still there, though, because he still relied on the Lord to save him; otherwise, he probably would have sunk.  Maybe the others would have tried to pull him back in the boat and not succeeded.  Maybe he would have drowned.   What matters is what did happen.  When he lost his focus and began to go under, he remembered who Jesus was and cried out to the only One who held the power to save him.

Immediately, Jesus reached out his hand and caught him.  (Matthew 14:31)

All Peter needed to do was stay focused, and he could have waltzed on across the lake.  But that focus proved to be too difficult, and the winds too overpowering.  So he had to rely on his faith and knowledge in the One who would be faithful and who possessed the ability to prevent disaster from destroying him.

In the studio where I ballroom dance, there are two poles, right in the middle of the dance floor, holding up the ceiling of the room (which was originally designed to be a shop other than a dance studio).  As a lady, who always is going backwards, blindly, and who is doing a large percentage of the spins and turns in a dance, the poles can be scary, as they threaten to produce a concussion or an injured arm or foot, not to mention an embarrassing dance blunder.  It took me a few months, but I finally learned that if I looked backwards to watch out for the pole, my dancing would become terribly ragged, with no technique, no feeling, and sometimes even no movement at all, just a stop/restart moment.  I could be sailing around the floor with a partner, feeling graceful and flowing (emphasis on “feeling”), then, knowing we were approaching a pole, slow or even stop, destroying the whole mood of the dance.  But if I trusted my male partner to avoid slamming me into a pole, we could maneuver around them and continue the dance.

With most partners, this movement was not too difficult, and only awkward at times.  With my dance instructor, we would move quicker and broader around the floor, streaming rapidly towards a pole, until he masterfully led us around it safely and we continued the dance as though no obstacles existed.   Several times, I have felt compelled to check for the pole at the last moment.  Each time that I did, we stepped on each other, broke the entire movement, and even created the hazard of greater injury and potential hitting the floor.  I would destroy a beautiful, flowing dance that could not be regained afterwards without starting over.  If, while dancing with him, I were to not trust, not focus on the task of dancing and following, but, instead, focus on the possible disaster of running into a pole, I would totally ruin the dance.  But if I were to simply do what I have the power to do, move and follow, no collision would occur and the dance would continue seamlessly as though no hazard ever existed.

Upon this realization, I vowed to never mistrust this leader again, but to always focus on what I needed to be doing to dance, and let him be concerned with leading us around any threatening obstacles.  And, of course, his leading has proven to be worthy of my trust.

When we are walking on water, we can only remain afloat when our focus remains stable on the Master.  When the winds blow, we still have to focus on what we are doing.   We cannot afford to focus on anything ahead that we cannot see, including a threatening pole.  We will lose balance, miss steps, and, at the very least, totally destroy the moment.  However, we also cannot allow a leader to run us into poles and other pitfalls.  We need to focus only on a leader who will have our welfare as the goal.  We cannot rely on everyone, because someone will eventually allow us to stumble.  At times, we will have to enlist our own resources in order to stay safe.

An even more reliable plan is to focus only on a masterful leader—the One who can walk on water.  Just like Peter, so can I, but, in order to stay afloat, I have to keep my focus on the right leader, the One who will not only take me soaring through the dance of life, but who will make sure that I am safe along the way.  He knows all about our adversaries.  He hears the nasty things the coworker says.  He feels the depression that hovers like a rain cloud.  He sees the financial crisis, the medical report, and the broken heart.  He sees all the poles and the winds.   And He is the One who can maneuver around all of them.  We can follow Him with trust, because He knows how to glide past them gracefully and lead us to continue our dance.