Let me list some things that have given me great pleasure, then I’ll tell you about the greatest of them all – to me.  1) Being permitted to attend school (one room school) with my brother, who was 2 years older. By the time I started first grade, I was able to do 3rd grade work, because I was learning what he learned;  2) Achieving perfect attendance several years in a row while in elementary school;  3) Having straight “A’s” in school till about the 7th or 8th grade, when I got distracted by the opposite sex;  4) Playing on a football team that went undefeated;  5) Graduating from high school, in the third of the class that made the upper 2 thirds possible;  6) Financing my first motorcycle from the j-o-b I had;  7) Playing in a junior legion baseball game where my pitching buddy tossed a perfect game;  8) Meeting my wife, then becoming Dad to the greatest son in the world;  9) Always being employed, though with far too many employers (never building up a retirement fund);  10) Playing for all those fast-pitch championship softball teams, for ? years;  11) Going sky diving with that son of mine while attending a week-long seminar in San Diego;   12) Being able to retire at 62.  The list goes on. So let me bring this to a close.  ALL the above AND more brought me great pleasure, but the greatest pleasure for me was in April, 1971, when I realized that I was on my way to hell, and I made the quality decision to invite Jesus , the Son of God, into my heart and life. And I’ll tell you, He has never failed me since, though I can’t say the same about me.

When we think of pleasures, usually we think of what makes us feel good or of things we enjoy doing. Nothing wrong with that. But do we ever stop to think about what God thinks about what we do or how He feels about the things we enjoy? Hopefully our desires for pleasure do not ignore the very One Who designed us to enjoy all of His creation. Take a look around. All that exists is available for us to enjoy. Think about it. The beach, the mountains, the sky (and all that is in the sky), the highways and byways, the familiar, even the unfamiliar, are waiting for us to explore and adore. I’ve even found enjoyment in recent labors, like digging drainage ditches. Working in the soil, uncovering innumerable sandstones and bugs and crawling things, brought unexpected pleasure and satisfaction, though the task was laborious. What was hidden in the ground from me was no mystery at all to God. And it occurred to me that the feelings I realized from my labors brought joy to God also. He was pleased that there was no complaining about the cuts and scratches on my hands and fingers, or about the backache from swinging the pick and using the shovel. It brought Him pleasure just watching me accomplish the chore I had chosen, without muttering or complaining about the hot, sweaty conditions and the aforementioned aches and pains. Plus I enjoyed the benefits of exercise and hard work, which resulted in a bit of weight loss. Wow! I achieved pleasure by working hard and in so doing, I think God had pleasure in my accomplishments.

More observations, next post.

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