Déjà vu – we’ve heard the phrase. Many of us would say we’ve experienced it before. Well, I just experienced the opposite of déjà vu. 

The word “déjà vu” is a French word meaning “seen before”. It’s when you feel like you’ve in some way already lived through what you are experiencing.

The opposite of this is called “jamais vu”. It’s also a French word, but it means “never seen”. It’s the feeling or experience you have when you recognize or know a situation, but it still seems very unfamiliar or unknown.

I’m using this definition loosely, but that’s what I just experienced last night at my niece’s wedding. 

Everything had gone well … the ceremony, the pictures, the spring roll h’or d’oeuvres which were really delicious and hit the spot before dinner. The speeches were meaningful, funny, touching and not too long. The food was delicious. 

Then it came time for the first dance. 

The bride and groom had picked a particular number to dance to and they had worked out some planned moves during the song. 

When that first dance was over, it was time for the bride to dance with her father. 

This is where I experienced jamais vu. 

Watching my brother on the dance floor dancing with his daughter was something I recognized. But with my daughter’s wedding coming up in about four months, it was also very unfamiliar and unknown. 

I watched John move around the dance floor, trying to detect if he had any special skills or moves that I might have to learn for when it was my turn. 

Nope. Nothing.

There was no pre-rehearsed number where he ended up doing the splits or the whole wedding party joined in sync with their choreography. 

There was none of that.

There was just John and Angela moving around the dance floor together, to a familiar song by a member of the rock group, Genesis.

That could have been significant because John loved Genesis and Phil Colins’ drumming. 

It had been suggested that John stop dancing part way through the song and play a drum solo while the song continued. However, this particular song didn’t have a drum solo … and John never sat down behind a drum kit. 

So though I don’t know what to expect when it’s my turn to do the father daughter dance, I now have an example of one that I could pull off without any practice … as long as my daughter doesn’t get any big ideas, or watch too many Youtube videos of father daughter dances. 

I do have one excuse and that is my knee. It’s still been giving me trouble and, unless I wear my brace, I think I may have to roam around the dance floor with my daughter much like my brother did with his daughter. 

… And that will give him deja vu.

Here’s the thing: We can read about heaven in the Bible. There are some passages that even give us a glimpse of what it will be like. The Lord tells us about His presence in heaven, but when we get there, to us it will be jamais vu “never seen”. We may recognize aspects of heaven but it will seem unfamiliar, unknown … but amazing!

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What have you experienced that seems unfamiliar or unknown to you? Leave your questions and comments below.