Book · 2011 - Dancing with Father

I remember the incident as if it happened just yesterday. There I was, adorned in a beautiful white gown that mom had sewn for my Senior Prom. Like any typical teenage girl thrilled to be all dressed up and made up for such a distinctive occasion, I stood waiting in our living room with eager anticipation for my date to arrive. Feeling such joy and delight, the words came rolling off my tongue, “How do I look?”

The abrupt response hit me, taking my breath away as I gasped for air. “You look funny” instantly shot back at me in a critical and angry stare. The harsh retort only reinforced the message I had been receiving for years and what I already had come to believe about myself. That brief scene became a defining moment for me because in its brevity, it described a reality I lived in.

Sixteen years later, my husband and I attended a wonderful, week-long Christian conference that taught us how to facilitate God’s healing to wounded souls. During lunch on the last day of the conference, the painful memory of my Senior Prom night came back to me. It caught me by surprise because I hadn’t thought about the incident for a long time.

After lunch, we met in our assigned small groups as we had every day of the conference. Since this was our last meeting together, we took turns being prayed for by the rest of the group. I didn’t tell them about the memory of my senior prom night, but as they prayed, one woman said she immediately had a vision of me in a white dress. Then another woman said that she also immediately saw a vision of me in a white dress while at a dance. A third woman excitedly shared that she too had a vision of me in a white dress, and that Father God wanted to dance with me.

Needless to say, I wept as I heard the Lord speak healing words to my heart regarding this painful memory. This was His new, defining moment for me.

Shortly after that wondrous encounter with Him, I was inspired to write Dancing with Father. The poem is a vision of my dance with Father God and a tribute to Him that testifies of how He healed me and gave me a new identity. My hope and prayer is that you also will be drawn into a personal encounter with Father God as you hear Him speak His transforming love to you.

All glory to Him who imparts a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning and the garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair!

Dancing with Fatheris a short illustrated book of poetry and reflection, carried by Danielle Iranon’s painted artwork. It reads in one sitting and gives a reader who has been spoken over harshly a way to hear a different voice. Michele wrote it so that anyone walking the road she walked would know they are seen, pursued, and loved by God as Father.

Also available as an audiobook, produced in radio-drama style.