Emphasis Preaching Journal

Streamers hang from the ceiling. Punch, pretzels, and candy cover the snack table. Music blares over a large sound system. It is an eighth grade dance, although nobody is actually dancing. You know the scene. One side boys, on the other side girls. A lot of nervous laughter and giggling. Young people trying to convince somebody to be their champion and break the ice with the other gender. Pushes and dares with responses of squeals and threats. Trips to the washroom. "You go first!" "No, you!" "Rachel should go first!" The disc jockey plays the present number one hit and one tall girl decides she's had enough of the preliminaries. It's her favorite song, she wants to dance to it, and her "crush" is just a dozen steps away. She boldly walks across the room and asks him to dance, and in a flash they are on the dance floor. A little nervous laughter on the sidelines is followed by more boys and girls deciding it is time to take the leap. Before the end of the song, everybody is dancing with someone. One person had to go first and test the waters. One young woman risked the suffering and embarrassment of rejection, but by taking the risk, this bold young woman got everyone dancing.
-- Olson