Ok, there are two disclaimers for this blog. First, it is late. This word was for March…but, my schedule (more like my slackness) hindered its writing. Second, this blog was probably one of the hardest for me to write, because it is something that I struggle with on a daily basis… so, let us just say that it was written in faith, that someday soon it won’t be such a difficult idea to grasp!
Word of the Month: Delightful
Let’s face it. Most days none of us feel delightful. I know I don’t… messy, dramatic, out of sorts, behind, busy, crazy, stressed, uncertain, yes. Delightful, no…not so much.
Maybe I am the only one… Maybe I am the only one who loses sight of the things that are delightful about me as they get slowly and steadily buried beneath lies and hurts. And when the lies and hurts keep coming, one right after another, steady blow after blow for days or months or in some cases even years, we come face to face with this question: Is there anything delightful about me? When relationships change with no real explanation, we ask: What is so terrible about me? Is there nothing delightful, nothing lovable? When our reaction to a situation does not match how we know we should have acted, we respond: What is wrong with me? What inside of me is incapable of getting it right?
Each of these questions come down to one single fear… that there is nothing inside of us of value or worth delighting in.
I won’t even wait until the end of this blog to tell you this: Yes. Yes, there is something delightful about you. In all honesty, there are hundreds of delightful things about you. Just like there are hundreds of delightful things about me. But, in our humanness, we choose to focus on the broken, the messy, the dirt-smeared, and we allow our eyes to be blinded to the God-given beauty that we offer the world. We become debilitated by our own lack. Turning in all directions we see negative qualities, harsh comparisons, mistakes, misunderstandings… and we are frozen by our own brokenness. And this frozenness leads to forgetfulness because in the muck and the mire we lose sight of the fact that our God makes BEAUTIFUIL things. Period.
GOOD NEWS! We can’t stay blinded forever. Our Heavenly Father simply won’t allow His children to stay in that place. He gives us songs where the lyrics just fit, moments of stillness in nature where the colors are bright, or people whose words, smiles, or hugs are the tangible presence of God breaking through our fortresses of brokenness. Two weeks ago (I told you this blog was a hard one for me to write), a wonderful Man of God was that tangible presence in my life. He told me with all the bluntness and brutal honesty that his personality possesses that God was proud of me (even with my hang-ups, issues, and insecurities), and that the only thing wrong with me is that I think there is something wrong with me, that I think there is any infirmity that God’s love and grace and mercy Has not overcome.
Woah. That truth did for my soul what a cup of hot tea does for a sore throat. It stung and burned a little, but it soothed A LOT. My God is proud of me. But, more than that, my God finds me delightful. When He looks at me, He doesn’t just see the past wounds, the overwhelming fears and insecurities, the current hurts… He sees me: perfectly, totally, completely. He sees the me He pictured before the creation of time itself. He sees the me that His son died for. And what specifically does He see when He sees me?
Well, there’s no telling. I mean, He is God… but, I like to think that He sees a tender and compassionate heart, a woman who loves fiercely, feels deeply, and enjoys giving. He sees a person who loves to laugh and make others smile, cares for children and small animals, and enjoys the simple things in life. He knows all about my dislike of all types of insects and my love of good books, tea, and coffee. He knows that I am partial to Spring, but not too into Summer, that I love daisies and anything bright blue. He sees my birthmark on my shoulder, the odd shape of my head underneath layers of thick tresses, my symmetrically crooked teeth, the freckles that darken on my nose under rays of sun. He knows where I am most ticklish and the fact that I collect owls and elephants and tea pots. The fact that I have to listen to music and sing along practically 24/7 has not escaped His attention. He knows that given the choice I will ALWAYS go barefoot. In fact, He just does not know these things… He made me so. He created all of my complexities. He created EVERYTHING about me, everything unique and delightful that I can offer to the world around me. He knows me, and He knows YOU! Every. Single. Delightful. Detail.
Don’t believe it? Maybe, you’ll believe Beth Moore… In her book So Long Insecurity, she writes, “God Himself formed human emotions. He knows how easily the heart can be broken. The mind can be marred. He knows life hurts…because people hurt…and then hurt people. He also knows the resilience with which He made us and the innate capacity within each one of us to be restored. Remade. He knows we are capable of loving even when we feel unloved because He loves us enough to cover those who don’t. He knows we are not nearly as fragile as we think we are, but we will act like who we believe ourselves to be. He knows we have the capacity to be astoundingly extraordinary, and not just in spite of where we’ve been but because of it.”
Still don’t believe it? How about from the Word of God… Psalm 103:13-14 says, “As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him; FOR HE KNOWS HOW WE ARE FORMED.”
He knows how we are formed because it was His idea all along. He knows us. He loves us. He finds joy in us, in our lives our laughter, and even in our struggles, He delights in our reliance on Him and our yielded hearts.
He delights in you. He delights in me. He delights in us. The King of the Universe made you, made every single characteristic. And, based on that logic alone… if the King of the Universe made us, there is something, hundreds of things about us that are delightful!
