The Joy of Being

Wedding Dance

Turkmenistan 2004

Psalms 149:3 NIV

"Let them praise his name with dancing and make music to him with tambourine and harp."

I turned the street corner as I trailed behind my hostess and her son and discovered the source of the loud music and singing I had heard since we had begun walking down the dark alley.

On a narrow driveway between two homes, a massive wedding party was taking place. Strings of colored lights dazzled my eyes as they surrounded the platform where the bride and groom would soon take their places.

Opposite the bride and groom's platform about one hundred feet away was a similarly lighted stage for the musicians. Strands of flashing lights connected the two platforms.

I estimated five hundred people were packed into the small area. Some stood and others were seated at tables eating dinner. Several danced. 

Both men, women, and children performed traditional Turkmen dances. I was attending my first wedding party in Turkmenistan.

The women were radiant in beautiful handmade dresses of all colors and fabrics for the wedding. Girls wore scarves around their hair that cool October evening. Boys wore hats.

The children soon realized I was in the crowd and gathered round me to pose for photos. They were delighted to see the pictures I had just taken of them on the back of my camera.  They weren't shy. They asked for more pictures. 

Soon, teenagers began to point to themselves. I took pictures of them until my hostess dragged me onto the dance floor.

I was out of my comfort zone. The older women who danced the traditional dances pulled me into their circle and motioned for me to join them in the dance.

I am not a dancer; however, these women were compelling, and they smiled at me so lovingly, I could not resist them. I began to mimic their movements.

The women laughed. One woman in a purple vest and green scarf approached me to help with my hands and arms. She showed me how to move to the music. After several failures, I tried to forget myself and just BE. Once I lost the sense of myself, I was dancing with the women.

They smiled and nodded at me in approval.

God delights in us when we are joyful and share with each other heart to heart.

I could not speak Turkmen; she could not speak English, but we spoke the language of the joy of being.
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Lord, help me to let go and BE more often in life.
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Here is a sample of a dance at the wedding that night. Notice my friend in the purple dress and green scarf. Enjoy.