Project #LikeLife: The Discipline of Delight
It might look like a lot of color + fun - but here's the truth I've found --
Liking life is a fight.
It doesn't just happen that we wake up and enjoy our days. It's hard to ward off defeat and discouragement. We aren't always programmed to see God in our daily life. We have to choose to draw near to him, turn towards him, or uncover Him - for He is always near to us.
When I hear about delight, I can lean two ways:
I either #1: Work on tidying my life up, getting this right, or getting that in order in hopes that this tidiness will help me like life in the future. That the more orderly I am, the more delight will come. This isn't true.
or #2: Decide that hardship and delight cannot coexist. So I lean into suffering and miss out on the grace of my day-to-day. This isn't helpful either. Delight is delightful because it's often coupled with the opposite. The Kingdom is very paradoxical - a both/and can always exist.
Here's where I want to be:
There's a third option that takes effort, what I like to call, The Discipline of Delight.
I read this quote recently – "The quality of life is in proportion, always, to the capacity for delight. The capacity for delight is the gift of paying attention."
Delight is not something to save up, be motivated by, or tuck away in hopes that you'll taste it in the future.
Delight is a discipline, and it calls daily.
The discipline of delight has been the thing to save my life.
When we hear "discipline," we may think of something strict, structured, or serious. When we hear "delight," we may think of frivolity, fluff, or something other people get. However, I've found that when I take delight seriously, I experience more fullness. In reality, I'm taking John 10:10 seriously, and opening myself to the possibility of abundance in the here and now.
The only option is to like your life today. Someday won't come until heaven - and we've been given this life on earth to live. And you know what they say - we aren't always guaranteed tomorrow.
Get ready for heaven. But don't forget to enjoy today.
Here's the permission to get serious about delight this week! The gift is already yours; grace is all around you.
The fight to recognize what you like is a discipline worth doing.
With love,
Caroline