“Hi, my name is Wesley and I’m a news junkie.”
I don’t know exactly when my need toknowtook over my life. Maybe it crept in slowly, an extra headline here, a breaking update there; until one day I found myself startled awake by a New York Times notification, curled up next to my beloved iPhone like it was my longtime companion, my most intimate confidante. I wish I were exaggerating.
And let’s be honest: New York Times alerts rarely interrupt your day to tell you that everything is just fine. No one’s buzzing your phone to say “Hey! Everything’s cool. The planet’s spinning. Go back to bed.” It’s almost always news of heartbreak, disaster, injustice. Things we do need to know, yes, but that can also flood our hearts with helplessness and dread.
But what if it didn’t have to be that way? What if, every once in a while, your phone buzzed and the news was delightful? What if the alert said: “Massachusetts coffee shop offers free lattes to anyone who walks in dancing”? Or: “Restaurant in Staten Island run entirely by international grandmothers serves food that tastes like love itself”? That’s news worth knowing, too.
The horrors of the world are real. We must not look away. We are called deeply and urgently to be the hands and feet of God in this beautiful, broken world. But Jesus also said, “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself” (Matthew 6:34). There is something holy, even radical, in making room for joy, especially in hard times.
So what can we do, practically, spiritually, communally, as people of faith trying to live in the world without being consumed by it? We can begin by noticing what delights us. The writer Anne Lamott says that God is a show-off, and I 100% agree. How else can you explain Spring? Or avocados? Or toddlers dancing like nobody’s watching? Delight is not a distraction from the spiritual life; it is the spiritual life. It reminds us that the world is not only wounded, but also wondrous.
So let’s share what brings us joy. Let’s name it. Let’s linger in it. Whether it’s the smell of rain on hot pavement, or a song that makes your shoulders move, or the way someone waves at you from across the street like you’re the best part of their day.
“Then you shall take delight in the Lord, and I will cause you to ride on the high places of the earth” (Isaiah 58:14). That’s not just a promise. That’s an invitation. So I’ll go first: this morning, I was sitting outside having my coffee, and a squirrel came to the bottom of the steps and sat next to me. I said “good morning” out loud. And I meant it.
Now it’s your turn: what delights you?
I’ll just say that YOU delight me, just for starters! What a great and useful message. Thanks for joining us at Calvary.
Thank YOU & it’s mutual delight!
As an escape from the barrage of bad news…I’ve been watching reruns of GRANTCHESTER and WEST WING…such rich scripts…consummate acting..,meaningful themes…good cinematography—-absolutely DELIGHTful!
Oh these are great ideas!
I held a work meeting at Autozone Park this morning. They surprised me by putting the name of our group on the jumbotron and opening the windows to make pictures easier. It delighted me to see all of my attendees taking group pictures in front of the jumbotron.
Delightful!
I just spent the most precious time with my mother in Nebraska including two nights camping at a local lake in her new Scamp camper. Beautiful quite mornings.
Precious time with momma is the entire world…
I worked a pro bono clinic at the Hub.
That facility brings me joy as do the grateful hearts of those we help.
And, dude, you can write!
That’s St Francis in a nutshell. And thank you!
Thank you Wesley – I love this message. Sometimes the smallest and simplest of things, especially in our natural world, are the most beautiful. Just this past weekend I was driving back up to Memphis from Alabama on quiet highway 45. I saw two birds – a larger one, perhaps a hawk of some sort, and a smaller one. Then I saw one body – a larger bird with the smaller bird on its back. Never knew that birds can do piggy backs too!
Birds doing mutual aid, who knew??
Wesley- can’t wait to meet you! And love this blog. It has been a bleak news week for me. Today, I delighted in our youngest (age 6) buying fish for her fish tank (to give this context, it was our third trip to Petco in a month, if that is any indication of her success so far…). She was so proud to transfer her 6 new neon tetras and 1 ghost shrimp into her tank. Based on how she handled the shrimp during the transfer, I’m not super sure about its future, lol. But she truly took pride in getting them home safely, letting them acclimate to the water in their store bag, and taking charge to put them into their new home all by her little self.
Oh my goodness this entire story warms my heart 🙂
What a delightful message! I love watching the birds at my feeders. The Brown Thrasher has a hard time staying on the feeder. He/She is better suited to the ground. Today, she or he made it!
Ever since I was a little kid I’ve been fascinated by bird behavior. I remember being upset at hearing someone being called a ‘birdbrain’ because I was (and am) convinced that birds are smart!
I love going to dinner and having an unplanned meal with friends, both new and old. Companionship and community bring me delight.
Martin that sounds like what heaven must be like…
Wesley- thanks for this blog. Great reminder to be mindful and look around. There is so much that God has put out there for our delight. Hope to meet you soon! Mary
Yes I’m lookong forward to meeting you soon!
Hearing my son’s voice on the phone — he’s 26 and lives in Europe — makes me so happy, as does the fact that he calls me pretty frequently. He always sounds happy to hear from me, too, which makes my day. Thanks for sharing yourself with us here — and congratulations on finding your new house!
This is so important & so delightful!
It’s been a sad week in the news. Thank you for reminding us to look for the joy in the world. It doesn’t have to be big. I am enjoying watching the tennis at Wimbledon; the athleticism and ability of the players is a pleasure to see.
Being at play and enjoying watching other people play is absolutely delightful…
Knowing you’re here with us brings me delight, Wesley. And birds, forests, books, art and strawberry cake.
Strawberry cake & Thank You!
Today is our third morning in beautiful, cool Scotland. We’ve seen ruins of a castle, a cathedral and a bishops palace. Each magnificent in their own way. And this morning our hosts hesitant schnauzer allowed me to pet him.
Thank you for saying yes to Calvary🥰
Dogs are particularly delightful!
A dissenting view. Delight is for children and the child in us. It is not spiritual life. Beyond delight, one needs spiritual consciousness.
Dissenting views are always welcome 🙂
I really appreciate you engaging. I’ve come to see delight not as something childish, but as a childlike joy that often flows from being close to God, like we see in the Psalms. “In your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore” (Psalm 16:11). To me, delight and spiritual depth can go hand in hand. Thank you for your words!
I, too, am a news junkie. And when it is too discouraging, I go watch one of my favorite videos of a Lutheran church in Nebraska singing one of my favorite hymns, For Everyone Born a Place at the Table, which reminds me we are one big community. And, community is one of my favorite words. Sidenote: that hymn is based on the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights.
I forgot to add: the chorus of this hymn is:
And God will delight when we are creators of justice and joy and compassion and peace.
God’s delight!
Thank-you for the reminder. This week we are taking care of our grand puppy, your words are a reminder for me to enjoy the delight my dog and my son’s dog have when wrastling in the house.
Grand puppies are most definitely a gift from God!
I was talking with a photographer living in Istanbul this morning. It reminded me of the childish delight I take in riding the ferries and water taxis back and forth between Europe and Asia
Thank you for the the reminder-I remember being delighted the first time I rode the Staten Island Ferry-it’s not Europe or Asia but it was joyful.
What a beautifully written invitation!
Thank you!
I took my lunch outside today and found a shady spot to sit. I took delight in the cool breeze on my face and its gentle sway of the crepe myrtle trees above me. It was a good place to rest.
A breeze in Memphis-a delight indeed!
Thank you!