Guests like the lovely Lisa Jordan. Lisa is such a skilled writer! I first got to know Lisa through My Book Therapy and now consider her a wonderful friend. I remember at least year's ACFW Conference when she handed me an advanced reader copy of her first novel...oh, tears!
Lisa's keeping with our February theme and writing about love...and, yes, Richard Gere. :) And we're doing a contest! Join the conversation below and I'll enter you into a drawing to win a copy of Lisa's debut novel Lakeside Reunion. Facebook/Tweet the link and you'll be entered twice. The deadline to enter is Tuesday, February 21, at 5 p.m.
A Promise of a Lifetime
Worn from an exhausting week, I curled up in my comfy leather chair in the corner of the living room, plugged in my ear buds, and watched Shall We Dance on Hulu. If you’re not familiar with the story, it’s about a married man played by Richard Gere who is blessed in many ways, but longs for happiness in the routine and drudgery of his life. He spies a woman in the window of a dance studio he passes daily on the L-train. Somewhere in the middle of the movie, he tells her, “You looked on the outside the why I was feeling on the inside.”
His wife, played by the lovely Susan Sarandon, suspects he’s having an affair and hires a private detective, who learns her husband is taking dance lessons. When she confronts her husband, he admits to being ashamed about not being happy. Later, she suggests he can teach her to dance, but very sternly he tells her he’s not dancing anymore. Then he goes to her and apologizes by saying,
“The one thing I am proudest of in my whole life, is that you're happy with me. If I couldn't, if I couldn't tell you that I was unhappy sometimes, it's because I didn't want to risk hurting the one person I treasure most. I'm so sorry.”
When John is invited to a farewell party for the dance instructor, his wife gives him a gift—something he wants that finally comes in a box—dancing shoes. With the song “The Book of Love” playing in the background, the viewer watches John wrestle with his passion for dance. Then on the way home he looks at the dance studio window and sees a dance invitation for him.Looking dashing in a black tux and carrying a single red rose, he takes the escalator to where his wife is working late and hands her the rose. She asks why he isn’t at the dance, and he tells her to dance he needs a partner, and his partner is right in front of him. He asks her to dance, but she doesn’t know the steps. He promises to teach her.
When we’re young and in love, passion runs strong and we may not be able to keep our hands off our partner. Once the wedding cake is eaten, the dress cleaned and put away, the honeymoon over, and photos framed, couples face spending the rest of their lives together.
The kids come. The house payment needs made. The car needs to be inspected. And the everyday life has a way of stealing away the joy we may have felt on our wedding day. The passion gives way to the mundane. We may feel taken for granted. Or even forgotten. Or maybe even cast aside for someone else in search of that passion again.
True passion, true love is the kind that runs deep—the kind that withstands the mundane, the kind that supports a job loss or life-altering illness, the kind that vows are made of—for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do us part.
That’s a promise we make to our dance partner—it’s a promise to care for him or her, a promise to teach her the steps, a promise of a partnership. A promise for a lifetime.
Married for almost 24 years, Lisa Jordan knows a little something about romance. She and her husband have two nearly-grown sons and will face an empty nest in a few months. Despite the mundane, they still take time to dance. Lisa is a contemporary romance novelist with Love Inspired. Her debut novel, Lakeside Reunion, released in November 2011. Her second novel, Lakeside Family, will release in August 2012. To learn more about Lisa, visit her website at www.lisajordanbooks.com.
Married for almost 24 years, Lisa Jordan knows a little something about romance. She and her husband have two nearly-grown sons and will face an empty nest in a few months. Despite the mundane, they still take time to dance. Lisa is a contemporary romance novelist with Love Inspired. Her debut novel, Lakeside Reunion, released in November 2011. Her second novel, Lakeside Family, will release in August 2012. To learn more about Lisa, visit her website at www.lisajordanbooks.com.
What a beautiful post, Lisa! (Lisa also included a video from Shall We Dance...it's below. So sweet. Sidenote: I love how Shall We Dance places such a high value on marriage.) You know, I think Lisa's post relates to our faith as well. True, passionate faith, withstands the sometimes-mundane-ness of everyday life, too. What do you think, readers?
