This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased.[1] God
In the Tea Shop, I experienced a wave of emotions. Many of them took me a long time to decipher. There was satisfaction, a little bit of fear, some good old fashioned joy and even some sadness when it was over. But, there was another feeling or emotion that I was just beginning to understand that I now think I know how to explain (at least to the extent that I understand it). That word is “delight.” The simplest definition of the verb delight is to “take pleasure” or “please greatly.” At Jesus’ baptism, Father God says that he is “well pleased” with Jesus. As far as I can tell, he wasn’t saying that Jesus did something to earn favor, but rather it seems this delight is simply something that is present in their relationship.
Other words for delight are charm, enchant, captivate, bewitch, thrill, excite and take someone’s breath away. The perfect example of this in my everyday life is my grandchildren. Jackson and Hollyn charm, enchant and captivate my attention every time I see them. As powerful as that delight is, it’s even more powerful when it comes from an unexpected source like the Tea Shop. I wasn’t expecting to delight in the people in the Tea Shop. It just never happens at Wal Mart and we were tired and frustrated and just wanted to make a quick purchase and get home. But, occasionally life surprises me and I am glad that it did.
One thing I have come to understand is that some people enjoy being delightful. I hope you understand this is not what I am talking about. I am not talking about the actors of the world that try to charm people. Eventually, we see through them and their superficial act to win our favor and it comes across kind of empty and void of heart-felt love. What I am talking about is an intention that is based out of genuine love. It is a desire to see in someone else what is beautiful. It is to make an effort to enjoy moments together in all of our messiness and somehow be captivated and enchanted by simply being with other humans. It takes some determination, the right attitude and living from our heart.
Because the Father, Son and Spirit were in relationship, it was natural for the Father to delight in the Son (Jesus). It is natural for me to be enchanted with my children and my grandchildren – not because they are perfect, but because we are in relationship. Delight is not automatic in those that we share relationship, but it is a lot easier than with someone we don’t know. But, what I learned from the Tea Shop is that we can delight, even in those we barely know, if we decide to. I didn’t decide that right away, but the man with no name delighted in me as soon as he saw me. I’m not sure exactly why, but you could see it all over his face. He took great pleasure in us and was thrilled to put his energy into that dance of delight.
Most often, we reject the idea that we could delight in those that are different. The Tea Shop taught me that indeed delight can be found in those that are most different. We were from different cultures, we spoke different languages, we had different belief systems; but somehow, that night we learned to delight in each other. It may have been because of the differences that we were so charmed with each other. I am striving to remember this as I have opportunities for delight each day. If I can overcome my fears, then I can move toward the opportunities I have to be with others and delight in their presence.
This past weekend I was with my friends at Breakthrough. I was helping them conduct the seminar that they have been doing for 20 years. I was one of the rookie training assistants helping with all sort of details like setting up the chairs and interacting with the participants. Usually with things like this, to be honest, I think too much and sort of freeze up. This time, I decided to be present and just delight in the process. I determined to allow my self to be captivated by the activity and charmed by the participants and the leaders. As I write this, it sounds scary, but it wasn’t. It literally took my breath away because I was open to delight. It was a new experience for me.
My assumption is that because we were created for relationship and created from a relationship, that when we choose to live from a heart of love, delight is the natural state for those that choose it. Obviously, we can’t force someone else to delight in us, but the Tea Shop taught me that we can be influenced and taught what we don’t’ fully understand or even know that we want. Delight may even be contagious—I know it was for me that night!
Blessings,
Karl
-
Message me at any time if you have questions: karl@karlscoaching.com
-
Find me on Twitter
-
Subscribe to Karl’s Coaching Podcasts
[1] Matthew 3:17
The Desert Sanctuary 
Leave a comment