Every time I turn on the television lately, there is a commercial for the show “Dancing with the Stars.” Everyone is talking about who they think is best and how they would love to have the chance to dance on the show. All this talk about dancing reminded me of what a good time I used to have dancing with my Granny and aunts. We would put a record on (usually Elvis) and then they would dance. My cousins and I would howl with laughter and pretty soon they would pull onto our makeshift dance floor and teach us the craziest dances like the jitter-bug.

Those times are some of my favorite memories. It was just fun! Laughing, moving, singing along…just fun!

I read of a tradition in Tanzania where people dance from midnight the night before Easter until the sunrise on Sunday. They start dancing and celebrating while it is still dark with complete confidence that Easter will break through the dark night!

We live in dark times. Our children are fearful. They worry and are stressed about the economy long before they even start to pay their own bills. They worry about whether or not they will be able to get into a good college before they are even in high school. They worry about terrorism. They worry about war. They worry as much as we adults do. Perhaps they even worry more because they feel helpless to do anything about it.

They learn about all of these things and are reminded of them each time they turn on the television. So…I invite all of us to consider turning off the television a couple of times a week for the entire summer and instead of watching “Dancing with the Stars,” I invite you “dance with your own stars!” Dance with your kids, your grand kids, your nieces and nephews…dance because it is fun. Dance because it bonds us and dance like they do in Tanzania, with complete confidence that the light will surely shatter any darkness in our world!