A Reflection on Delight

I once heard a priest, on the occasion of his ordination, thank the many people who helped him along the way. One of the more surprising moments was not that he thanked his parents, but that he thanked his parents for delighting in him. Now that was a new one to ponder.

To delight in a person is key to any loving relationship. How God delights in us is so awesome. Just think how God celebrates us, affirms us, smiles at us, and claps for us—we bring God such joy! In whom do we delight? What can our delight in others do for them? What will it do for us?

It reminds me of a story I heard while on retreat about a little girl and a jump rope. The little girl’s uncle came to visit and brought the jump rope as a gift. The uncle and the mother showed the little girl how to jump rope. After a while, she learned how and they clapped and clapped with delight at her achievement. The little girl took the jump rope outside to jump so that her mother and uncle could visit with each other. After a short while, she came back inside. Her mother asked, “Is something wrong? Can’t you jump rope anymore?” She answered, “Oh, yes, Mommy, I can do it, but I need lots more clapping.”

We all need people to delight in us—we need clapping too. From whom do we usually receive our clapping moments—friends? Friends are the people who reveal to us in a myriad of ways the unconditional love God has for us. Genuine friendships become sacraments because they are an expression of the reality of God’s love. Friends are a gift to us. We don’t earn them or buy them or even cause them to happen. They are simply a gift from God. True friends affirm our gifts; they are the ones who cheer us on when self-doubt threatens to sink our ship. Friends are the ones who delight with us when our children are born, who ooh and aah over achievements, who clap with us at some new accomplishment or recognition in life. Friends are the ones who stand by us through the difficulties of life, as well, still clapping, still steadfast and faithful, no matter where the journey takes us. Loyal friends are there at the end, too. By then, the clapping has usually changed to hand-holding. They accompany us down that final path, still with a tempered delight, to make the final journey home.

Isn’t that how God is with us? Think of all the times in your life when you have made God smile or laugh and look upon you with great love. Remember the many times in your life when you were lavished with blessings and given opportunities to know God’s delight. Remember, too, the sinful times in your life, those times when you recognized your need for forgiveness and felt the warmth of God’s embrace and God saying to you, “You are mine; I wait for you, I love you. You are my beloved; in you I take great delight. For in you I have made a home and you have made a home in me.”

When in your life have you experienced delight? In whom do you delight? Who delights in you?

Prayer: It is my deepest prayer, O Loving God, that your delight in me will always fill my days. May I recognize your loving touch each day in the blessing of creation surrounding me, in the friends that share my journeys, and in the simple clapping of hands. May I both give and receive delight in simple, humble ways. Amen.

Soul Searching:  The Inner Landscape of an Ordinary Life, Sr. Barbara McMullen, 2012.