Delighted?

             For the Lord takes delight in his people; he crowns the humble with victory. (Psalm 149:4)

Have you ever watched a family as one of the children takes a few first steps? Manages to ride thirty feet with training wheels on? Then with them off? Some schools have graduation ceremonies for every grade, and families hold graduation parties. As a writer, it’s been strongly suggested to me that I should celebrate significant achievements, and when it occurs to me, I have written little poems to celebrate finishing a chapter. I have given myself gifts for finishing a book. Goodreads.com allows me to celebrate finishing reading a book and lets me tell the world what I thought – and I usually get tongue-tied. There are amateur documentary filmmakers who make sure that all sorts of achievements are recorded so that the achiever can look back and relive the deed.

We think doing these things are helpful and encouraging to others, and they express our love or even our delight in the other person. I have to admit, I tend to think at least some of this is silly, and it can and does get blown out of proportion but consider the basic concept. We place a high value on recognizing connections and achievements.

And I get it – I’m embarrassed to share pictures of trifling accomplishments or to announce, “Hey world, I just finished chapter ____!” I’ve been documenting the release of butterflies and the construction of simple garden beds or steps, and I feel silly – no one cares. The female butterflies look alike, and the male butterflies look alike, yet I name them… It’s really for myself that I record these things so that I can’t look back and say, “I did nothing of value, nothing good, nothing useful.”  I don’t want to appear needy or high-maintenance, but I relate to the guy Larry Crabb mentioned in a video yesterday – who told those with him that he had never felt loved, only tolerated.

I’m not looking for pats on the head or the shoulder. This isn’t a pity party for me. It’s a proclamation that I understand how others feel. And it’s a confession that I do not believe what I should believe – what I desperately need to believe – that God delights in me the way others delight in children taking first steps, riding bikes, or graduating from Kindergarten – in all the stupid, little, insignificant steps that really aren’t even on the kid’s radar as an accomplishment until their parent starts recording and squealing.

I know I’m not alone in this. Whenever you hear about the judgments, it’s all about every time you sinned, every time you failed. What if God is watching for our first steps, our first “at bat,” or our graduation from spiritual kindergarten? Now, I’m not saying that we should think that God is delighted with everything we do. I don’t think he’s delighted when we do something He knows is wrong or bad for us. But just for now, consider even the possibility that He might be keeping an eye on you because today, maybe you’ll take a first step, or figure out how to steer a bike, or make a good decision…