“Delights Of The Soul”

Originally Posted Feb. 2, 2021

A couple of mornings a week, my wife Judy takes care of two of our younger grandchildren…. Nolan and Theodore; these two “characters” are 3 years old. They arrive with their backpack and plenty of energy. After vigorous greetings of, “Hi Papa , Hi Gramma”, with appropriate hugs, they’re ready for action. 

One of their first duties is to feed the chickens in our back yard. (oh by the way, our son and family who live next door have 13 chickens…. a book will be coming out soon on the saga of the chickens… probably over a 1,000 pages…but don’t get me started…. yes one of them looks like “Chuck the Chicken” and may not be a chicken … Chuck will hopefully be hitting the road soon.)  Okay, where was I ? 

So, Teddy & Nolan take their bags of vegetable and fruit scraps, barge into the coop, boss the chickens around …. mesmerized by all the activity. Judy stays at a safe distance as she doesn’t like the chickens very much. I tend to watch from about 5,000’ feet away thru strong binoculars….. I’m a busy man and just don’t have time to dilly dally in the chicken coop….I mean who would write the BLOG if I’m chasing the chickens around.

Well, the next time I look out, Gramma has the boys in the swing, pushing them while they sing a medley of favorite tunes….

• “ Oh Mr. Sun, Sun…Mr. Golden Sun…Please shine down on me…Oh Mr. Sun, Sun…Mr. Golden Sun…Hiding behind a tree…”
• “ The Wheels on the bus go round and round, round and round, round and round…all thru the town,,,,, 
• “ The itsy bitsy spider went up the water spout…down came the rain and washed the spider out… out came the sun and dried up all the rain ……
• “ 5 little monkeys jumping on the bed, one fell off and bumped his head, mom called the doctor and the doctor said… no more monkeys jumping on the bed…

Who’s having more fun … the boys or Gramma; they’re  all are having a ball. Well, they usually end with some coloring, Play-Doh, Mr. Potato Head and a snack. It’s a delight watching them all together. When the boys hit the road to go home with their little backpack, everyone seems in better spirits….. the boys, gramma, and the mothers who got a little break.

One of my very favorite scripture readings is from Psalm 37….. “Trust in the Lord and do good. Then you will live safely in the land and prosper. Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart’s desires.” (Psalm 37:3-4) Take delight in the Lord, and things will go well for you…you will receive your heart’s desire. I believe this includes taking delight in God’s special creations.. like his little children. 

Judy delights in children. When I see her playing with them, teaching them, she has a look of delight… and she is receiving a gift back from the Lord…her heart’s desires. 

So, may each of us delight in the Lord and in God’s beautiful creations…. His children, the  sky, mountains, oceans, forests, animals in nature. And as we delight in them, we will receive our heart’s desires…. And all will be well with our souls.