One of my favorite stories growing up was The Little Drummer Boy. I confess to this day that it remains one of my favorites. It is a beautiful story and one that continues to touch the hearts of many with its message. The song to the story is just as powerful:
Come, they told me…
A newborn King to see…
Our finest gifts we bring…
to lay before the king.
The story goes that the Magi recruit a young boy named Aaron while on their journey to meet the baby Jesus, known to them to be the Savior of the world. Aaron accompanies the Magi on their journey, but when he arrives he realizes he has no gift to give that is fit for a king. In his poverty (and, in some versions, in crippling pain and anger), Aaron approaches the baby Jesus in the manger. He has only himself and his drum. Aaron plays his drum for the baby Jesus; he plays his very best for him. Mary nods. The ox and lamb keep time. The baby Jesus smiles. Every person on the scene is caught up in the song.
Here, in this sacred moment, the full manifestation of Christ is present: his radiating light piercing into the darkness of the night, the world, and even the hearts of all who are present.
Aaron soaks in the encounter. As he gazes upon the Christ Child while playing his drum, the transformation of the young boy’s body, mind, and spirit is evident; coming to Christ is a life-changing moment for him. His heart is realigned and restored. He now has a sparkle in his eye, a smile on his face, and an extra pep in his step. Aaron no longer feels the inadequacy of his poverty, the sting of his grief, nor the captivity of his anger. He has been set free.
About a year ago I was finding that my prayer and meditation time seemed to revolve around the word rhythm. As a lover of dance who is drawn to rhythm, I sensed that God was speaking to me about this word in a way that was new and unfamiliar. With more listening prayer, I soon discovered that I had a problem with rhythm—not on the dance floor, but off—in certain other areas of my life and within my heart.
Not long after this, I was given a book on Celtic prayer and spirituality. It captured me as it led me into daily readings, meditations and prayers for the seven days of the week. It spoke on the themes of creation, seasons and cycles, and how God has woven his light and love into the fabric of every living thing.
I was reminded of what C. S. Lewis called The Great Dance: the beauty, rhythm and harmony of the inner life of the Trinity, and the glorious oneness that exists between the Triune God and all of his creation.
This was the kind of rhythm I was longing for. There were areas of my life that needed more orderly, rhythmic, and well-choreographed movements, and our Triune God lovingly invited me into his sacred dance to teach me.
As more of my time and heart become dedicated to God, I am seeing that time itself is a precious gift; every single moment is holy. I am learning to reclaim and redeem these precious moments, minutes, hours, and the days of my life for his glory.
In this New Year, may we all seek to recover and create more time and space for these holy moments to take place. Spiritual disciplines such as prayer, fasting and worship are designed to do just this. The more we practice giving everyday moments to God, the more we will see his light and love revealed and manifested in everything and everyone around us.
Begin to reclaim these minutes and seconds with the practice of saying, “In this moment, I give glory to you, God.” You will find that even the most mundane and extremely challenging moments of the day will have a joy and holiness to them.
May we learn to give our everyday moments to God. May we do as the little drummer boy did, and bring our hearts, our time, our talents to Christ—all that we have—and may we play our best for him. For these holy moments will change us and we will radiate the light, love and holiness of Christ to the world.
“I am the Light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life” (John 8:12).
Kim is an active and long-time member of CTR, currently serving with Women’s Ministry. A great joy of hers is teaching dance fitness with the YMCA and observing how music and dance bring light, healing, and community to others. Alongside of being the mother of Katie and Sam and the wife of Ted, Kim attends and regularly serves at both the 9am and 11am.
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