I find these words to be beautiful. Taken together, they draw for me a picture of loving well. I have them scrawled on a chalkboard in my kitchen, a reminder that this open and whole-hearted way of being with people is one of my longings.
Have you ever felt sheer delight -- joy, pleasure, contentment -- simply being in the presence of another? Have you ever felt someone delighting in you? I'm coming to think that being delighted in is an integral part of our belovedness being knit into our souls. Gut level confidence that we are adored, no matter our performance, success or [even!] obedience. Nothing tarnishes delight when it is genuine.
Lately, I've been noticing that my bestowing of delight has the power to change the feel of the room. It boosts our connectedness, even when the circumstances of the moment may be difficult. I've noticed, too, an interesting and unexpected result: the other person might lower their defenses and be willing to draw close in new ways. But the gift of delight comes first, with no strings attached.
When the bestower of delight is God, more than the feel of the room is transformed. The Architect of our being dismantles old patterns and reframes our belonging. He turns our heart of stone to a heart of flesh. He offers a way of being loved by Him that seems too good to be true. Embracing it is actually, for me, a work of the Holy Spirit; I'm not sure that I have the capacity to grasp the gift without help from the Giver. Crazy, right? The Creator of the universe holding space and gazing with joy on His cherished one. Me. You. He knows our smallness and limitations, our human tendencies for sin and falling short, and still He sets a feast before us, a seat at His table just for you, just for me. He waits for us. He longs for us. We were made for this, to be with Him, to be His delight.
When I live from this place of being delighted in, I am free and eager to bestow delight on those I love. This fruit of the Spirit is juicy and ripe, dripping down the chin and making everything sticky. They can't miss it. They are affected by it. They get sticky just by standing nearby. That's the kind of delight -- the kind of true love -- I want to leave in my wake, so that when my people think of me, it is with the deep down sense of being known and being adored. And maybe a little sticky.
If the idea of being delighted over by God is a reach for you, know that you are not alone. The Guided Meditation and Lectio Divina for this post (August 2024) may encourage you. (If you are reading the blog at a different time, and wish to have those resources, please email me at bridget@abelovedlife.com and I will send them to you.)
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