Imagine if all of your busyness, in the end, amounted to nothing. Imagine if the activities and work you’ve poured yourself into failed to add up to anything of lasting value. It’s a harsh reality to come to terms with, especially in the world of theater and dance, when a performance we’ve worked all year to perfect will exist only in our memories as soon as the curtain closes. But when we nurture our own desires and ideas, or dance for our own glory, that’s exactly what will happen. In this month’s studio-wide verse, Jesus tells us that, unless we’re living in Him, and He in us, all of our running and chasing and striving will amount to nothing.
“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” — John 15:5
Just as with the seedlings we’ve studied in our devotions all season long, only what has been planted and cultivated by the creator will thrive. When those buds and blooms are cut, picked, or otherwise separated from their source of life, they don’t survive. Likewise, in our lives, when we’re separated from the one who breathes life into all creation, we’re left to wilt and crumble. Only what flows out of a dynamic, living relationship with God will result in this month’s devotional focus: to bear fruit. And not just any blossom, but true, lasting fruit.
“Have you ever been in a situation where there are so many good things that you just want to do all of them? Or you want to say yes to every opportunity that comes your way? When I think about bearing fruit, I’m reminded that we can’t grow too many things in one space because they suck the life and the nutrients from each other,” Turning Pointe owner Tina Cook said. “The fruit suffers if we don’t weed. If we spread too thin, damage the roots, or if too many things are growing, then nothing is fruitful. We have to make space for healthy roots to grow deep and decide what’s most important.”
Simply put, our doing for Jesus has to flow out of our being with Jesus. Which means we need to look at what we’re chasing, double-check where the roots are planted, and choose what matters.
“We plant seeds because eventually, we hope it will bear fruit,” Cook said. “And while we may see fruit beginning to grow on our plant, there are still things we need to do to tend to it, like weeding and pruning to make sure it stays healthy.”
In the Fall of 2019, 15 years after Turning Pointe was planted, a fruit-bearing goal was set to reach 1,000 students—a rare feat for any dance studio, let alone a religious one. But by February 2020, with a then enrollment of 1,002, Turning Pointe celebrated the faithfulness of our Father, who created this dream in its staff, and allowed the studio to share the Gospel through dance with so many students.
“We had a lot of things growing at this time,” Cook said. “Our processes were running like clockwork, and our team was all in.”
But in March that same year, everything changed when the COVID-19 pandemic delivered a devastating hit to the world and the theater/arts community. Regular classes moved to Zoom, Twirl program classes were pre-recorded. Even three months later, lower-level recitals were performed distanced, two-to-four dancers at a time with limited guests, and the advanced showcase was performed in sections, distanced and outdoors.
“I could go on and on about how many students we lost, how I had to reinvent the business overnight, or how I didn’t eat or sleep for months because I was so anxious about the unknown,” Cook said. “But we ALL have stories of struggle during that time. Looking back, what I am most grateful for is the way we were able to make space to decide what was most important. Once again, I was brought to a place of surrender. It’s not about my effort to grow or bear fruit. Any good thing, any fruit from the vine comes from Him.”
Our own strength is not enough. We need to draw our strength from the vine if we want our lives to bear fruit for God’s kingdom. The most important part of the Christian life is the part that only God sees. We find God’s deepest blessing when we spend time at the feet of the One who knows and loves us best.
“We learned the importance of community,” Cook said. “Nothing can replace being together. That’s the way God wired us. I’m so thankful that dance is not a solo effort. It’s a team performing art. We rely on each other and we rely on God! We are connected to His vine. Through that difficult season of pruning and weeding and tending, we were making space to bear fruit that will last.”