Delighted In

I think I feel most loved when I am delighted in. I love when people find me fascinating. When I can tell them a story and they get totally into it. I love that. When I can tell them some obscure dream I have and they help me brainstorm how to achieve it. When I come up with a strange idea (like a Weird Movie Marathon) and they think its great. Or, when I decorated my apartment living room with a homemade rainbowy "vine" and I asked my roommate if she could live with it and she replies, "Its you. And I love you." That was pretty great. I love to be delighted in.

I think when we are delighted in, people are encouraging the Jesus in us to become more evident. Does that make sense? Its like they can see something deep within us that is good, and they're drawing it out by affirming its goodness.

I have some friends who are particularly good at making me feel delighted in. My roommate would be one of them. Heather, you are too. Katie, my backpacking-world-traveller friend, if you're reading this, you DEFINITELY are amazing at delighting in people. In fact, I'm mostly thinking of you as I write this post.

Its also with these people that I feel most comfortable, most safe, most myself.

And its not even that they affirm the good in me only when I tell them the good stuff. They affirm the good even when I show them the gross stuff too. They see something better in me beneath the garbage on top and they point it out. And its nice to have people see me that way. Larry Crabb calls it being in spiritual community.

So, my general goal from this point on is to be someone who genuinely delights in people. This is my official declaration, on the internet for all to see.

And by the way, this post was quite inspired by The Safest Place on Earth by Larry Crabb which is a book about spiritual community that I am reading over the holidays.

Merry Christmas!