Audience of One

In the fall of 2025, the LORD showed me a vision:

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Imagine a vintage, cavernous theater. The stage vast in depth and width commands your attention, draped with long red curtains trimmed in golden tassels suddenly drawn back.

At center-right stage stands a single ballerina of a ballet blanc, her long flowing white dress catching the light. Her porcelain face captivates your gaze. She holds an arabesque with arms stretched forward, face directed ahead, and bending gracefully in a halfway bow, radiating elegance and fortitude.

She surveys the theater: all the seats are vacant, except one. Front and center sits a lone figure, slouched in a dark hoodie, shrouded in mystery.

Audience of One

Teach me to dance in the presence of one.

Where once there were a thousand and I gave my all,

now I look out and see… only one.

Thoughts flounder in my mind.

“Why put forth the time and the effort,

for empty seats?

Does the vacancy meet my needs?”

What if I told you the seats are all sold out,

there’s not a ticket left to sell.

Yet I look out and see… only one.

“Where could everyone be?

Do I give ten… twenty… a hundred percent of myself?”

All the falls, the bruises, the pain I felt,

All the countless hours spent striving and perfecting?

Do I leap, push my limits, sweat and strain?

Or glide light on my feet, effortless?

Would that one even notice the difference between?

The time is ticking. The show is about to begin.

A decision must be made.

I wonder… who could that one be?

I look up. Lock eyes.

The one staring back… is me.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

If it were you, what dance would you bring?

(Donna’s response)

My friend Hannah shared this vision with me over a month ago and I asked if she could write it out so I could share it as a blog.  I read through what she wrote about this vision dozens of times this week and my heart couldn’t stop hearing what it heard the first time she told me about this vision.  

As she described the scene in vivid detail, I emotionally put myself in the shoes of that ballerina.  I imagined being in position, poised and full of grace, mentally and emotionally prepared to perform for a sold out theatre.  I imagined my disappointment as the curtains were pulled back and only ONE shadowy figure in only ONE single seat was before me.  I don’t care if that person paid for every seat in the theatre, I would be disappointed.   

Would I be willing to POUR myself into the performance of a lifetime for ONE person?

Not knowing who the person was, would I be willing to give ten, twenty or one-hundred percent effort?  

I can imagine coming out of that bow, looking up and how much intention it would take for me to keep my shoulders back and my head held high as I decided if I were willing to give my all for only one person…..and then, as my eyes adjusted to the light, to see that the only one looking back was me?  

If I’m being honest, I’d probably come down off my tippy toes, slowly walk to the edge of the stage, sit down thoughtfully with my legs dangling off the edge and say, “Is it really just you and me?”

I’d sit and look myself in the eyes and think, “Why does it even matter?”

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

I think the meaning my friend took from this vision is EXACTLY what God needed her to hear at the time.  He was revealing to her how HE sees her, and His desire for her to look in the mirror and see what He sees….that she is worth it all.  That if He were the one dancing and performing for her, He would willingly give one-hundred percent.  He was reminding her of her inherent value, intrinsic worth, spiritual importance and worthiness.  He brought a dozen passages of scripture to her heart and it was a profound message for her. 

Hearing the EXACT same vision, He lit my heart up with a completely different message.  This is why it is SO important as we read God’s Word and share these visions that we listen with our OWN spirit for what God would speak to us…

 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

I was disappointed because I was the only one in the audience.  Was it worth giving 100%?  No. I’ve seen myself practice, I’ve seen myself perform and I have NO desire to perform for myself.  It’s not that I’m not worth the effort, it’s that anything and everything I’ve ever done with my eyes on myself has been…disappointing.  

What if the audience was full of 1,000 strangers who paid big money and were clamoring to see me dance? 

Would I throw my shoulders back, hold my head high and float around the stage on my toes till they bled?  Would I ignore the physical pain and exhaustion to give it my all?  Would their applause at my highlights fuel me until my next big move?  

Three years ago, sadly, my answer would have been yes.  With 1,000 people seated with excitement in the room, I would have willingly given my all!  I cared SO much if people approved of me and thought what I was doing was good.  I craved the validation of the applause and lived for the approval of others.  

When Hannah told me about this vision, I was cleaning my kitchen.  She asked if she could tell me about a vision the LORD had given her.  I wanted to hear what God would speak to my heart so I dried my hands, sat down in the dining room and closed my eyes as she spoke.  If it were possible to see and hear the vintage cavernous theatre as she spoke, I did.  As she spoke, tears gently rolled down my cheeks….

“Where could everyone be?

Do I give ten… twenty… a hundred percent of myself?”

My heart gripped in my chest as I imagined the scene and my heart heard a different ending in the making. When she said the last line…

”I wonder… who could that one be?

I look up. Lock eyes.

The one staring back… is me.”

Have you ever been abruptly startled by a loud noise when you’re starting to fall asleep?  Your whole body is jolted awake, your eyes pop open and you’re suddenly VERY alert.  

“The one staring back…is me?!”

My eyes opened and darted back and forth in confusion?  The tears rolling down my cheek were a sobering conviction that if GOD were the only one in the room, I needed to decide if I were willing to give one-hundred percent of myself to the performance.  

It’s been a month and I’m still hearing the SAME thing I heard the very first time.  If I were the one in the audience, I’d sit down and stare at me.  If GOD were the one I locked eyes with….I really had to wrestle with that question.  

If NO ONE saw me giving to the poor, would I be as generous?

If NO ONE saw me helping someone in need, would I?

If NO ONE heard me singing, would I pour my heart out as I do?

If NO ONE saw my arms held up in praise, would I still lift them high?

If NO ONE knew I prayed for them, would I do it just the same?

Scripture is FULL of verses encouraging us to give 100% for an audience of One.  

“But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, that your charitable deed may be done in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly.”

Matthew 6:3-4

“But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.”

Matthew 6:6

“And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the LORD and not to men, knowing that from the LORD you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the LORD Christ.”

Colossians 3:23-24

God, forgive me for all the years I have POURED myself into “performing” for both myself and others.  Forgive me for every time I have placed my value in the fickle opinions of the crowd.  Help me discover the simple delight of giving my all for You…an audience of One.