Take Delight

This past weekend I had the joy and honor of accompanying my son Noah to visit five college campuses in the beautiful state of Colorado. We couldn’t have picked a more perfect weekend to visit—the weather was in the 70’s, the skies were bright and clear, the mountains majestic, and the trees  in full autumn splendor. I was in complete awe of God’s creation---I couldn’t get enough of the colors—vibrant reds, oranges, bronzes and yellows. I took pictures of every tree, bush, hill, creek, mountain, flower that I saw—everything was new and exciting (being a California native—change of seasons is a foreign concept to me).  Noah began to get a bit (a lot) impatient with me and as we were eating lunch in the adorable college town of Fort Collins, he said to me, “Mom, you don’t need to take a picture of every leaf and tree you see.”  I replied in my post cancer—everything is perfect and beautiful and we must appreciate every moment kind of way, “But Noah, everything is so delightful and lovely—don’t you just want to take it all in?” And his curt response was, “Mom, I do NOT DELIGHT in trees.” To which I responded, “Well Noah, what do you delight in?”  He looked at me and said, “I delight in people.”

I am blessed that we have raised a young man who delights more in people than in things, but it still took me aback a bit. Almost every blog I have written since my March 2013 diagnosis of cancer has been about being grateful, about appreciating every little thing, about living with purpose, about never taking anything for granted. And because for some crazy reason God allowed me to survive my two year battle with cancer--each and every day, each and every little THING, each and every person in my life—is absolutely DELIGHTFUL.  Because of cancer, because of my survival, because I was able to go on this college visit with my son--the delight of things and people have become uber-magnified in my life. I know it is cheesy and repetitive, but I will repeat it until my last breath—make every moment count! Delight in the wonders given to you!  I have decided to compile a small (well, maybe not so small) list of things I delight in….it is a list to be continued daily and it is practice of gratitude and joy.

I delight in……

*Waking up to a new day in a safe home ensconced in a warm bed

*Butterscotch toffee coffee on my patio with my journal and Bible each morning

*The bright orange and coral hibiscus that blooms on my patio fireplace

*Morning hikes at Torrey Pines, along the cliffs, the beach, or at Lake Poway with the clear lake and surrounding hills

*Mountain bike rides in the hills of my neighborhood

*Acai bowls at Swami’s café

*Watching the neighborhood kids walk to school with their bright backpacks—with seemingly not a care in the world

*Getting super sweaty at my spin class

*Having wine and appetizers on our cabana at sunset (with good friends)

*Meeting sweet former YL or Oasis kids for coffee or lunch and hearing how God is working in their lives

*Lunch dates with dear friends

*Arriving at church and being surrounded by my little “grandbabies” shouting “Lola Kiri!”

*Watching my former students grow up into amazing adults, wives, husbands, parents and hard workers

*Listening to Ed Sheeran songs

*Skyping or Facebooking with my Ugandan family and knowing that soon I will return to that precious village in Guru Guru

*Texting with my nieces, and talking with my mom or sister and knowing that even if weeks have gone by, our relationships are rock solid

*Crazy family dinners around our table—

*Being able to be home when my boys get home from school to make them a snack and hear about their day

*Our four wild and endearing rescue dogs—who all think they are lap dogs

*My incredibly patient, calm husband who God knew I needed to balance me

*My precious boys—gifts from God—who make me smile, make me proud, and bring me pure joy every day.

*Trying new restaurants around town, but always having the comfortable “go to” places where the local bartender knows your name

*Penne Elena at Villa Capri—even better when I am with my besties

*Reading, reading, reading

*Discovering, learning, growing

*Making lists and checking them off

*Arranging flowers that I cut from my garden

*Sunsets on the coast and in my backyard

*When my boys come home and pile on our bed and tell us about their evening

*Marathon Netflix “House of Cards” and “Scandal” nights

*Say Yes to the Dress

*Sushi

*My new passion in mixology

*God’s Word

*My two hope chests filled with journals I have written since I was eight years old

*Friday night lights at Poway High

*Watching Noah play soccer

*Listening to Micah sing

*Mentoring and teaching

*Empowering others

*Pumpkins

*The first day that it is cool enough to wear a sweater and boots

*Baking banana chocolate chip muffins (heart shaped) on the first rainy day of the season

*Being transformed because of God’s grace

My list could go on and on….and it will….because I want to delight in all God has blessed me with. But as Noah said, “I delight in people.”  People—family, friends, those less fortunate than me—they are what to delight in, to show love to, to pour time into. But no delight could be possible without the delight of the Lord. It is in God the Creator, in Jesus Christ, in the Holy Spirit—the Triune God—that all my delight comes. 

To pull and paraphrase from Psalm 37:

“Trust in the Lord….Take delight in the Lord…..Commit all you do to the Lord…..Be still in the presence of the Lord….”

He alone is my rock, my fortress, my salvation….my delight.

Might I challenge you today-- and every day-- to delight in God, in people, in things-- and to chronicle those delights so you might be reminded—when the rough times come—that we have so much to be thankful for and to delight in.

Blessings.