The Delight of Fresh Vision

Blog by Gem Fadling

I’ve previously shared that I grew up on a six-acre property in rural Washington. The nature-filled delights of my childhood were endless. Forests, rivers, waterfalls, and the winter snow all added to my cherished memories.

During the summer, friends and family members would visit us and enjoy all our region had to offer: Multnomah Falls, the Washougal River, Beacon Rock, the fish hatchery, the Bridge of the Gods, and Dugan Falls.

As we made our way along our usual tour, we would always take our friends to eat at a restaurant called The Char Burger. At the time, I thought it was magical because you could go through a line with your burger and choose your toppings (children are easily entertained). I now realize it was simply a glorified Fuddruckers. But through the lens of childhood, those kinds of things were delightful.

I have so many great memories of visiting all that natural and man-made beauty. And even though I had been to each location many times, it never grew old. It always felt like a celebration--and even like something new--because our visitors had never seen it before. I was able to ride the wake of their new experience.

Fast-forwarding a few years to when I was a young mom, one of my favorite things was experiencing the world through the eyes of my three sons. Just as I had enjoyed the same local sites with summertime visitors, I experienced the dynamic of everything being new from my boys’ perspective.

They engaged the world with fresh energy. And kids don’t get bored by doing the same thing over and over. If Alan threw them into the air and caught them, you’d better believe the first thing they would say was, “Do it again, Daddy!”

These memories open me up to at least one way God must love us. Certainly, as an infinite being, God has been there and done that. Yet there is no evidence that God tires of his creation. What a gift it is to imagine that God takes pleasure and delight in the way each of us experiences the world…and that God never tires of us.

Just as I drew pleasure from visiting sites with friends and seeing the world anew through my sons’ eyes, might not God be delighted to see the world through my eyes?

God has taken care to craft each of us in his image. What an amazing sensation it must be to experience how eight billion people take in God’s own creation. It must be…delightful.

Many of us may struggle with thinking about God delighting in us. There are many reasons we could point to in our lives that may make that seem impossible. But maybe this verse will encourage you:

“The Lord your God is with you,
    the Mighty Warrior who saves.
He will take great delight in you;
    in his love he will no longer rebuke you,
    but will rejoice over you with singing.” (Zephaniah 3:17)

REFLECTION 

• What brings you delight?
• Do you believe that God might delight in you in that same way?
• If so, spend some time in gratitude, thanking God for his posture toward you.
• If you are struggling, how might you experience God’s presence with you?

“God says every morning, ‘Do it again’ to the sun; and every evening, ‘Do it again’ to the moon. It may not be automatic monotony that makes all daisies alike; it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never gotten tired of making them.” (G.K. Chesterton)

You are, in fact, delightful. Let God express that to you today.

Photo by Jeffrey Workman on Unsplash