So You Think You Can Dance - A Lesson in Overcoming

It's pretty amazing what the world of dance can teach us.

It is also remarkable when someone beats the odds, not only surviving a terrible situation, but learns to thrive in spite of it, inspiring others in the process.

Both of these came together perfectly on Tuesday evening during So You Think You Can Dance.  With it being the first week of All-Stars this season, I knew it would be a special show.  I just didn't realize how special until the final pair of the night took the stage.

When the All-Stars were announced, I was already psyched because my favorite dancer ever on the show, Robert Roldan, would be back after missing Season 9.  Why wasn't he an All-Star last season?  It definitely wasn't because he didn't want to be there or the producers didn't want him back - far from it.  They would gladly have had him there if he was able.

The reason was simple yet heartbreaking.  Robert had been in an accident - one where he almost lost his life.  The doctors told him that most people don't survive the situation he was in, and he was lucky to be alive.  On top of that, they informed him that he would never dance again.

Thankfully he is not like "most people".  Robert declared that God still had a plan for him, and he would work hard to get back on stage to dance again.  For just over a year, he has worked his way back through the injuries and pain to not only function on a daily basis, but to dance - and dance well. 

For his first time back on SYTYCD, Robert was paired with Tucker Knox, a contestant on this current season who has also survived a bad car accident, which at one point left him paralyzed.  Tucker also came back from a place where he was told he wouldn't even be able to walk again.  Travis Wall choreographed an incredible routine for them, which represented his relationship with his brother Danny, whom he helped out of a dark place.  The combination of these three men together was the perfect storm of talent and emotion.  God knew what He was doing putting them all together - at the right place and the right time.

All of them have LIVED this story in their own way.  I was in tears watching as both Robert and Tucker poured out their emotions in the dance, portraying everything they had been through in front of the world.  At the end of the routine, Robert ran to hug Tucker, and they embraced as only two people who had been through the same difficulties could, with total love and support.  At this point I completely lost it, because even though I haven't actually walked in their shoes I could FEEL what they did.  And that is the mark of a true artist.

I have friends who have gone through, or are currently going through, recovery from an accident.  I know that Robert (and Tucker) went through a lot of pain, both physical and emotional, on the journey to overcome the trauma and get back to fully living.  It's not easy to work through the various feelings that attack you as you recover, but you can't let those feelings keep you down.  You have to have the FAITH that God is with you on your journey and you will beat the odds.  That the negative words that others, even doctors, may say is not going to be your reality.

For myself, I need the lesson that was provided on Tuesday night as much as anyone else.  As much as I try to stay positive, from time to time anxiety, depression, and fear threaten to get the best of me.  I always fight it - because I'm not about to let the devil win.  God created me to be someone special, and I will fulfill his purpose for me.  And just when I'm having one of those really rough days, He sends me a message through these amazing dancers and beautiful human beings. 

God uses our gifts to bless others.  While He speaks through some of us through our words, He speaks through Robert and others, without words, through dance.  The blessings may come when you least expect them, but they are always right on time.

Robert is right.  God does have a plan for him - not just to dance again, but to speak through that talent to inspire others to have faith and courage to be their best and not settle out of fear.  He also has a plan for each of us, and I pray we all have the courage to live out those plans.  I also pray for Robert as he continues to recover - and thrive.

Most of all...I thank God for speaking to me through dance when I really needed it, pulling me from the darkness into the light.  He is ALWAYS on time!

Biggest Loser 14 - Overcoming Fear and Bullying at the Halfway Point

Here we are at the halfway point of the season with the remaining contestants, and thankfully I'm way past the halfway point of getting over the flu so I can recap this week!  Since we're in the middle of the season, you know there will be even more twists and turns. 

The main twist this week involved the weigh-in.  Dice were presented, one die for each team with their faces on the sides.  Each trainer would roll the dice, and the player showing on top would have to represent the team on the scale.  Only his or her weight would count.  This would not happen until right before the weigh-in, so nobody would know who it was going to be...except the white team, because only Danni is left to represent.  Jillian was nervious about this, since Danni had pulled a big number the week before and they didn't know if she could do it again.

This twist caused anxiety and fear to come out in some of the players, particularly Gina and Jackson.  Gina cried, which set Bob off.  He really laid into her about all of the tears and why she always thinks the worst about herself.  Eventually he took her outside to have a calmer discussion, letting her know that he sees her as a major threat in the house and she's capable of much more than she gives herself credit for.  She's always afraid that she'll let people down.  She vowed to start seeing herself the way Bob sees her.  Jackson had a similar talk with Dolvett about always feeling like he wasn't good enough, and Dolvett made him repeat over and over that he IS good enough.

Fear is an interesting thing.  I know I've talked before about it, but I can't drive the point home enough.  Fear makes you doubt yourself.  When you doubt you can do something, it messes with your head so that you can't do it...which only makes you doubt yourself more and fear the next challenge in your life, whatever it may be.  I've been there.  I STILL struggle with it.  But I've begun to break that vicious cycle, putting myself out there more to try different things and push myself harder.  I have to block out those who don't believe in me and prove them wrong - in fact, I have to prove that old negative inner voice wrong and just go for it.  And as I build up small victories (and larger ones) my courage and confidence grow.  That's what the contestants on the ranch go through, in front of the world for all to see.

Speaking of challenges, who in the world comes up with the ones for the show?  As my friend Shannon on Twitter said, it looked like the set of Wipeout.  Walking on a beam, dodging swinging objects and getting plates to the other side...back and forth several times...just looked so cruel.  I would like to see the people who designed this challenge have to do it!  And on top of that, they had to correctly put the plates with calorie counts on them with the right pictures.  Finally Danni won...proving that this one-woman show can rock anything.  She got to hear from her family, which had to be especially sweet since she has no teammates to lean on at this point.

The teen ambassadors had their own challenge, thankfully a much nicer one.  They had to find ways to set an example for other kids around them.  Biingo started his own fitness club.  Sunny led her classmates in a circuit workout she created.  Her parents really want her to be a doctor, but I think she has a future as a trainer.  She would still be helping people get healthy!  Lindsay bravely spoke in front of her school about bullying - what it did to her and how it affects others.  She made them pledge to stop bullying altogether.  Then she was surprised by pop star Cody Simpson, who also spoke and gave a little concert for her school.  I'm really proud of her...I don't know if I could have stood before my school (including my bullies) and spoken so eloquently.  Maybe she will stop some of these kids from turning into adult bullies; we know that adults are also still ridiculed by those who never grew up.

The last chance workouts were brutal.  Jillian actually made Danni's fun, but she did have to get over her fear of heights to jump from a wall into a pit.  Once she did, she wanted to keep on doing it!  It's always good to mix it up to keep from getting bored, and use those muscles you didn't even know you had.  Dolvett invited Laila Ali to lead his team in a boxing workout.  It would be so cool to have a lesson from her.  (And if she brought her former Dancing With The Stars partner Maks with her to gave me a cha-cha lesson...all the better!)  She actually struggled with her weight as a kid, so she could relate.  For Bob's team, it was basically a beating in the gym, making all of them work until he thought Alex was sweating enough.  And then he even took a picture of her after she collapsed over the treadmill!

The time to face the scale arrived, and the trainers rolled the dice.  Joe represented red, Jeff blue, and Danni white (of course).  Jillian was worried about Danni beating Joe's percentage, but she did.  I have to say she's my favorite this season!  It came down to blue, and Jeff didn't lose enough to beat Joe.  The blue team went to their first elimination of the season.  I pretty much expected that they would send David home, considering that he has a leg injury and even when he give it his all he doesn't burn as much as the others.  But seeing him at home, he's really making progress!  He looks amazing and is a much better police officer now that he's fitter.

Next week, everyone goes to singles!  The teams are dissolved and it's every player for himself/herself.  It also looks like Jillian helps Jeff get to the root of his problem and they bond.  I can't wait to see what happens next...how about you?

My Focus Word for 2013 - COURAGE!

"Whatever course you decide upon,

there is always someone to tell you

that you are wrong.  There are

always difficulties arising which tempt

you to believe that your critics are right.

To map out a course of action and follow

it to an end requires COURAGE."

--Ralph Waldo Emerson

Happy 2013!  You may remember that at the beginning of last year I chose one word to focus on for 2012.  Actually, it chose me.  God puts the word I need most in my mind - and everywhere else (books, music, signs, quotes, etc.) so that I know for sure which word He wants me to focus on.

Last year's word was ACTION.  And I did take action in many ways throughout the year, but I still have a long way to go. 

Which leads to this year's word:  COURAGE.

This is an area in which I have struggled since childhood.  So many times in my life, I've had people tell me I can't do something.  Sometimes it was meant well, like when my parents were afraid I would get hurt - either physically or emotionally - and would not let me do certain things, such as horseback riding.  At other times it was other people telling me that I couldn't accomplish certain goals because I "was not good enough" or "didn't have it in me". 

I still have people in my life who don't believe in me or what I can accomplish...actually, I've begun to realize that these are people who don't believe that they can accomplish certain things, so they don't think anyone else can either.  Or they are people who can't think outside the box to do anything other than what's considered "normal".  I've even had someone bluntly tell me I would never accomplish anything in my life and I was worthless.

Now, maybe these people were raised to believe that, so all of their lives they impose the same thought process on others who dare to dream and set goals...to be different. 

So that means if I want to truly be the woman God created me to be, I have to have the COURAGE to ignore the naysayers and overcome fears that have long been placed into my mind.  Having that COURAGE will build on the ACTION from last year, because fear stops us from taking certain actions that we should take.

So I pray to God to help me have the COURAGE to put even more of His plans for me into ACTION.  With Him I will get there!!!

What about you?  Do you have a focus word for the new year?  Please share!