The Delight of Living

Nearly a year ago now, I started reading a book titled The Lost Art of Dress: The Women Who Once Made America Stylish by Linda Przybyszewski. The book discusses the history of, not only fashion, in the United States but also the history and decline of home economics, the rise of ready-to-wear clothing and department stores, and the relationship between art and dress. The book was fascinating, at least to me. But there was one page, one paragraph, and really one phrase that stuck with me for over a year, though I couldn't put my finger on why.

"Too much interest in fashion and too much shopping also bothered Ellen S. Richards, the mother of modern home economics. Richards shook her head at the "large crowds of women seen daily on the shopping streets" at the turn of the century. She would prefer that they find "the delight of living" in their homes, not in rifling the bargain counters at the department stores." (page 136)

I took a picture of the paragraph on my phone and continued to turn over the phrase "the delight of living" in my mind for, well, nearly a year. There was something simple and charming about those words. As I scrolled through my Instagram feed the other day, I saw a photo selling shirts and mugs. They read "yoga pants, messy bun, target. #momlife". I chuckled to myself, thinking "How true". And there it was, the connection, the lightbulb moment. Moms, people, defining their lives by the frequency with which they wander those wide, shiny aisles lined with beautiful things.

In that moment, I felt a pain of guilt and shame. I would be ashamed to count the number of times I have put my kids in the car with the end goal of a Target shopping cart, popcorn for Emmylou, and a large cup of coffee for myself. You know, a well-deserved treat. In that same moment, I thought not only of Ellen S. Richards and her hauntingly accurate prediction of the dangers of consumerism, I thought of another phrase containing the word delight.

"Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart." (Psalm 37:4)

And then came another wave of guilt, a good guilt, a guilt that sent me running to scripture. My thoughts and prayers were raw, honest, and desperate. What was I teaching our children? Was I really teaching our daughter that Target, popcorn, and coffee could solve a bad day? That an item marked with a red and white striped sticker could make us happy? Was I somehow, unintentionally and unknowingly, teaching our daughter to delight in Target instead of Jesus?

The words of Ellen S. Richards cause my mind to flood with images and memories of our home, of the life that happens here. Dance parties, board games, pots of chili large enough to feed the 12 people crammed in our small kitchen, bedtime prayers whispered for loved ones, mealtime prayers of thankfulness, middle of the day prayers asking for strength, energy, wisdom. This, this is the delight of living in our home, the delight of living in community, the delight of Jesus, this is what I want to teach our children.