My daughter Jessica’s favorite color is green. Other two-year-old girls might prefer pink or purple, but Jessica loves green. In fact, that’s why her unicorn name (when she pretends to be a unicorn) is Green. It’s also why she’s requested green frog gummies and green gum for her upcoming 3rd birthday.
Jessica also loves to be read to, and I love to read to her. I enjoy the moments when she snuggles up close and I get to introduce her to new sights, sounds, and experiences through the pages of a story. The other day, Jessica and I were reading together, and I pointed to the picture illustrating what was going on in the text. But Jessica was intrigued by it for another reason. “Look!” she said, jabbing her index finger onto a picture of a ball. “It’s green!”
The next page was even better. “Look!” Jessica said, pointing to a tree. “That’s green too!” She beamed, her eyes sparkling with delight.
I was delighted too, at the beautiful simplicity of her joy. It didn’t take something complicated to make her happy. All that was necessary was a simple discovery of something beloved right there where she could see it.
Why does it take more than that to bring us adults joy? Why don’t we experience the same enchantment on a regular basis?
Maybe it’s that simple things have lost their thrill for us. Maybe we’ve gotten so “mature” and grown up that we’ve lost our ability to take childlike delight in the simple things in life. We take far too many good things for granted.
I love the color blue. But do I ever stop to enjoy the blue things in my daily life?
I really love soft, fuzzy slippers. But do I ever stop to enjoy it when I slide my feet into a pair, or has the act of doing so become so routine for me that I don’t ever pay attention while I’m doing it?
I wonder what I might discover if I took the time to really experience things instead of just brushing past them in life.
What would you discover? You might get to remember how good it feels to pet a soft, wiggly puppy. Maybe you’d get to savor the sweet taste of a mug of hot cocoa. Or perhaps you’d enjoy relaxing as you chatted on the phone with a friend.
If we were to slow down and rediscover the simple pleasures in life, not only would we experience unexpected delight on a much more frequent basis, but our hearts and minds would be drawn to the Creator of all these things. I know that when I really enjoy something, my heart is moved with gratitude to the One Who created all things and blessed me with the enjoyment of them. It’s a sweet, intimate fellowship when I agree with God that His creation is wonderful, enjoy it, and thank Him for it.
I know how much I like it when my children delight in something I’ve done for them. God loves it, too, when His children truly rejoice in His blessings in our lives. Even the simple ones. Maybe especially the simple ones.
Let’s ask God to open our eyes for us to all the pleasures of His creation. Then, let’s spend as much of the day as we can in delight and gratitude. It won’t be hard. There are myriad blessings out there, just waiting to be appreciated. And who knows? Some of them might even be green.
1 Timothy 6:17—Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.