Psalm 37:4 Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.
I wonder if any of us would even get it? He was “the man”, though now in his Eighties, he had built the business from one retail/service center to the eighth largest business of it's kind in the US. And she was the current voice that would greet incoming phone calls, and the isolated face that would welcome visitors in a small waiting room. She would offer them a seat and announce them to their corporate connection further back in the belly of the business complex where he had a “now”rarely visited corner office. If you met either of them on the street your eye may not even start to capture the essence of their existence.
Daily, there would be a performance of love and care that would give them both the sense of grateful significance, but this performance would not take place immediately in the day, that would be too conspicuous; but this vital event would happen through the process of the mornings first couple of hours.
He would arrive to his corner office that was slightly isolated from the rest of the booming business now under the oversight of his son. She would arrive and take her place in a solitary cubical near the front door, “the reception area” that was isolated also from the rest of the booming business just down the hall. When not in, his office would be dark and clean, nothing like the decision cluttered office of his formidable years. When she was not there, her cubicle would sit empty and neat, and she would be replaced by a sign that would direct visitors to the first receptionist around the corner.
At the decided moment of the morn, determined by the elderly statesman, he would purposefully leave his office and walk past her cubicle but not with out the most sincere “Good Morning, it is so good to see you today”. She would beam back a smile and a similar greeting. He would continue past her cubicle to the retail center comfort center and grab two cups of hot chocolate, one for him and one for her. The one for her would be royally received by her as he would deliver it to her cubicle before heading back to his office.
My gift for my Thursday morning was to be the blessed observer of “the performance”. I was the timely visitor in the small waiting room as the scene unfolded before my eyes. I watched as life and glow filled the room during that mutually longed for event. He was beaming with pride and care as he handed her the daily Hot chocolate, while she sincerely radiated with the reception of that simple gift (Oh, by the way … it was free for anyone in the comfort center next door, but here it had a value that surpassed gold and silver).
When the performance had concluded,and he continued back to his corner office, she stood to peer above the fogged glass that topped her cubicle, to tell me how cold, cruel, impersonal and rude the world was becoming around us … she said with tears in her eyes “ He'll never know how much that daily gift of hot Chocolate means to me, and I don't have the heart to tell him that I don't like hot chocolate because the “giving” means so much to him and me”. Wow … I was so humbled.
Now as I reflected on the depth of a familiar passage of scripture, that had emerged earlier in the week from my heart's treasure vault... “Delight thyself also in the Lord, and He shall give thee the desires of thine heart.” ...the Hebrew which was once hidden in meditation now came alive. When I, with tender and exquisite delight, focus more on the Lord's gracious movements in His act of delivering daily blessings to me, my heart gets what it so desperately requests and desires … significance in knowing He actively loves me. Our hearts truly do not desires things … the desire of our heart is to be loved.
Today it really didn't matter, the request or the words exchanged … I was treated with contempt and disdain. Any verbalization that remotely felt like a reasonable request was shot down immediately with sarcasm. Embarrassment seemed to be the cruel game plan predetermined for my life. Every bit of energy spent was dust in the wind, because at the end of the day it would buy further groans and distance from those that I needed to appreciate me.... This is actually a hurt that most hearts carry daily (some is self inflicted but most is happening in real time) … they want so much to be loved, to be significant, to be given the attention that says “you matter to me”.
In your daily efforts to acquire... do you leave a trail of devaluation in the wake of your “trying to get ahead”, or does your life and living bring value and significance to the lives of others? Focus on Him and His process of giving you significance, and your life will bring value to others. You say, “I'm not getting it!” Wash your heart with His word, and open your eyes to a rugged cross and an empty tomb … just stare away … you'll get it.
We need each other.
HLFA,
Jeff