It is for us to learn how to build effective containers and dance floors where people can do their dance between love and fear, moving toward Love in relative safety. As a dancer I will not dance on concrete floors; they are too hard and I risk the danger of being hurt. I will dance on a floor of wood; it is organic and has give, it moves with me. I am called to a dance of loving accompaniment with people having out-of-the-ordinary experiences of God. The dance floor with give is made of respect, honesty, nonjudgment, and compassion. Prayer is the name of the basic step. God is the choreographer. I am grateful for the dance. I invite you to join in.

This excerpt is from Dancing with God through the Storm, Pendle Hill Pamphlet 344 by Jennifer Elam. Used by permission of the publisher. Available through the FGC Bookstore

Jennifer Elam is a member of Berea Friends Meeting in Kentucky and presently attending Media MM in PA. She was the Cadbury scholar at Pendle Hill during 1997-87 and this writing grew out of the work she did to integrate her career in psychology with her spiritual life.