He delights in us

It happened last week. The question I've been waiting to hear from Emmelia with not a small amount of trepidation was asked. No, it wasn't about death - we've been talking through that topic quite a bit lately. It wasn't about the birds and the bees. She has a book that explains that a baby is formed when a sperm meets and egg. So far she's satisfied with that and hasn't asked exacly how they come to find themselves in close proximity.

No, Emmelia's voice piped up from the backseat while I was driving and asked "Why does God love us?" I steeled myself for follow-up questions to the answer I was about to give and said "because we delight Him." Thankfully, the follow-up question was manageable - "Why did He make us?" and I could just keep on the same theme - "because He thought it would be fun to have humans around. We make Him happy." Well, except when we're sinning... but even I realized that was too much to lay on a four-year-old.

It's a good thing I actually manage to follow through with one spiritual discipline in my life and read the Psalms regularly, or I never would've been able to field that one.

He reached from on high, he took me,
he drew me out of many waters.
He delivered me from my strong enemy,
and from those who hated me;
for they were too mighty for me.
They came upon me in the day of my calamity;
but the LORD was my stay.
He brought me forth into a broad place;
he delivered me,
because he delighted in me.
Psalm 18:15-19 (RSV)