Megan's prayer: Steven Curtis Chapman's "Lord of the Dance"

I started to dance

In high school, I was very awkward. I avoided doing anything too ridiculous in front of people, because I didn't want to get made fun of. Even though all of my girl friends loved riding around in cars dancing along to music, I always tried to find excuses so I wouldn't have to go.

It wasn't until I started to hang out with two guys, who would become my best friends in high school, that I started to feel comfortable with myself. They didn't judge me, they just loved hanging out with me. I slowly grew less awkward, and I started to dance. I wasn't a good dancer. In fact, they called it my "shoulder dance" and I knew that I should probably be ashamed as to how bad I was, but I finally felt loved and accepted. I was able to just be myself.

Another place where I used to feel awkward dancing was in adoration. During Encounters I would see people much younger than me getting into the experience much more, and dancing around. I was a bit jealous. I wanted to be able to not care, and just dance around, but I was too worried about what others would think.

Finally, a year and a half ago on a retreat, I felt overwhelmed by God's love during our adoration. At that point, nothing else mattered but praising God, and the best way to get that prayer out was through shouting the songs, and dancing around while I did so. It is such a joyous experience. I was lucky to have a similar experience this summer on Stuebenville. I look forward to those opportunities where I feel comfortable dancing for the Lord.