‘Tis the gift to be simple, ’tis the gift to be free,

’tis the gift to come down where we ought to be,

and when we find ourselves in the place just right,

’twill be in the valley of love and delight.

Simple Gifts, Traditional Shaker Hymn

Why did God give us life?

The answer is simple: because God delights in us. Because each and every one of us is unique, never seen before and never coming again. The whole nature of the universe is changed because each of us, beloved and unique, came into life. That truth is a cause for celebration. It’s delightful in the most profound sense.

That doesn’t mean that we always live into that delight, or even recognize how much we are loved and prized. I suspect that we’d do a lot less damage to ourselves and others if we truly embraced God’s love and delight for us. But when we do, when we experience God’s delight in us, we find ourselves in a holy place. And when we recognize others and God’s delightful children, we find we are residents in that valley of love and delight.