Last night, Vivienne was part of a worship dance presentation with Light of the World Ballet. In a word, it was precious.

Although it was her first experience of this nature, Vivienne was as comfortable as could be. You’ll enjoy this anticdote from the evening:

First, some important background: Vivienne was on stage for a total of two minutes. Really, just two minutes.

At the one minute marker, Vivienne was supposed to kneel down, hold her flag, and smile at the audience. Upon kneeling though, she sighed, slumped down, rubbed her eyes, and fixed a most miserable expression on her face.

When asked about this miserable expression, Vivienne explained, “Well, I just felt sad, missing you, Mom. I needed a break! I needed a snack!”

Remember now, she had been on stage for one minute. Meanwhile, you know, the older girls were swinging flags back a forth, leaping across the stage, and lifting each other above their heads. And of course, they were smiling.

Vivienne didn’t mind that an auditorium full of people were relying on her to show them two minutes of a child’s blissful joy in God’s presence. But, I hope they were as blessed as I was to see a little girl who felt comfortable enough to say, “Actually, God, I’m beat! And I’m hungry!” (Of course, we have our work cut out for us in strengthening endurance and self control… but we’ll cherish these moments for what they are.)

May the tiny dancer always be so far from pretense.