Drew Erickson: Learning to Dance Again
- What is your name? Drew Erickson
- What is the worst thing that ever happened to you in your life? My wife suddenly dying. I still can’t believe the Lord allowed it to happen.
- What is the best thing that ever happened to you? My twin daughters, Faith and Hope. I can’t imagine life without them.
- What would it mean to live as your true, authentic self? Not to live in fear. I’m finally getting to the point where I don’t have to live that way. I have a choice, and my choice is to give my fear to the Lord daily.
- Do you believe everyone has a purpose? Do you believe you have a purpose? If so, what is it? Yes, I do. My purpose is to share the love of the Lord with those in my congregation as well as my girls.
- A hurricane is coming and you have time to grab exactly one object from your home before you evacuate. What object do you choose and why is it so important to you? It’s my wedding photo, the one with my first wife, and the one with Renee right now.
- Your wife, Renee, is a dancer. How do you feel about that? A few years ago, I would’ve said I could never marry a dancer. Everything has changed since she walked into my life.
- What do you mean by that? Renee’s passion taught me I have nothing to fear. Yes, my wife died, but Renee has taught me to dance again.
- How do you dance again after such a tragedy? Have you ever seen the plaque that says it’s not about waiting for the storm to pass but to learn how to dance in the rain? Well, that’s where my life is right now. The storm I was waiting for to pass was grieving the death of my wife and how she died. I wouldn’t let my girls dance. Until Renee.
- Do you dance now? Yes. It has taken some time, but I’ve finally been able to start lessons again.
- Is Renee teaching you? (Drew laughs) Who better to teach me to dance than my talented wife? Yeah, she’s teaching me.
- What has been your proudest moment? Seeing my girls perform on stage, all 3 of them, together.
- How did you deal with your first wife’s death? I was angry. Angry at God for taking her and leaving me with two little girls I didn’t know how to raise on my own.
- As a pastor, did you feel guilty for feeling that way? Yes and no. I did because I have a church to lead, but at the same time, it allowed the members of the church to see it’s okay to feel that way. God’s big enough to handle my anger. He loves me enough to walk through it with me and help me come out the other side.
- Did you have anyone helping you raise your girls before Renee? Yes. My sister, Tiffany. I couldn’t have done it without her.
- Do you feel you have the life you deserve? If not, what do you deserve? No. I don’t deserve this life. God has given it to me, no matter what I deserve. I deserve to live a life separated from God. But Jesus bridged that gap. He died the death I deserve in order for me to live this life.
- Tell me about an enraging experience you had that everyone else thought was no big deal. Why was it so infuriating for you? I didn’t want the girls to be in dance lessons. No one quite understood the fear that gripped my heart like a vice. They tried to understand, but it wasn’t completely clear why I was so afraid, to them anyway.
- Do you regret that now, looking back? No. Because if I allowed them to dance when they wanted to, I wouldn’t have met Renee.
- Have you completely gotten over your fear of dancing? It’s a daily prayer. There are times when I think back to what happened when I’m holding Renee in my arms. At that moment, I have to turn to scripture and remember that perfect love, God’s perfect love, casts out all my fears.
- What is something you want to leave with your girls? It’s okay to be afraid. It’s not okay to let that fear control you. Let God’s love have control over you, and let the fear go. It’s worth it!