Ted Shawn was a young divinity student who was stricken with polio.
He was terribly depressed and was in tears.
One night sitting in room, he heard a voice from somewhere deep within him:"Ted stand up and dance and dance and dance".
He followed this call and slowly he regained the use of his legs and struggled and danced and miraculously he became one of the fathers of modern dance.
Studying theology did not heal him. But listening to God in prayer and embodying the inner voice of God in his person did the healing.
Dance in all its forms, is Theology lived. He could not study theology but he lived theology in his steps.
This leads us all to the inescapable act of daring to do the seemingly impossible, of daring to breathe in muscle and bones.Feel the call of God and believe again and again.
Whatever crisis we face, listen to the inner voice of God that speaks in and through our pain. If you can hear it and believe it, you will be reborn.
It is a starling secret, that the best chance to be whole is to love and believe in yourself because God believes in you more than you yourself do.
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
The touching and divine story of Ted Shwan, the divinity student who was stricken with polio has been astutely delineated. The power of love of God is touchingly presented in this poem. I want to cite here...Studying theology did not heal him. But listening to God in prayer and embodying the inner voice of God in his person did the healing. A beautiful poem nicely inscribed.