Simple and Surrendered...: Everyone Wants To Be Chosen...

It's a cloudy, gloomy, rainy kind of day.
A day where one would like to stay in their jammies, curl up in a blanket (with the love of their life of course), watch a sappy movie & sip a good cup of coffee.
One like me...♥
But the reality of it is, life goes on...
Even on the cloudy, gloomy, rainy kind of days. :)
Work to go to.
School to be done.
The essence & beauty of life to live.

Enjoying the day I have been given.
Blessing & loving well those within my midst.
Making much of the grace Christ has lavished upon my life.

I am rich indeed. ♥

Truly, I am one of those kinds of people who would stay in my jammies all. day. long.
And many who know me very well, know I live more in my jammies than I do in street clothes.
Until a few weeks ago...

I would do my hair...
And most days put on my face paint to cover the bags under my eyes & the blemishes that sprinkle my complexion...
But clothes...
Nah.

Mal is a get up, get around, get dressed & prepare yourself for the day ahead kind of gal. She dresses for success & her style & diligence in this area would make Kate & Claudia's Aunt Sharon a very proud woman. ♥

So a few weeks back, Mal challenged me to get dressed first thing in the morning if for no other reason than so that when the neighbor kindly brings produce to our door to share with our family, I can answer it instead of hiding behind a counter pretending we aren't home. :) I mean, how fitting is it for me to answer the door in my pajamas at 10:30 in the morning. On a Saturday, maybe. But not on a Tuesday or a Wednesday or a Friday...

So today, I'm dressed.
In real clothes.
As I have been for the past two weeks straight.

It's a nice feeling & I'm wearing things that have been hanging in my closet unworn for weeks...months...years... :) And I'm finally able to comfortably wear jeans that have been in my drawer for a very long time due to the healthy eating plan (coupled with a wee bit of stress) we have been following for several months now.

Mal is proud of me...
And she tells me often. ♥

One day as I was busily making mine & Kyle's bed, I was thinking about various things in life (my brain rarely rests) & the thought came to me...
Do people need me more...
Or do people want me more...

I mean think about it for a minute...
Do people need you more...
Or do people want you more...

There is a difference, you know.

Needing:
laundry
meals
dishes
transportation
money
assistance in things someone else is incapable of doing
help in accomplishing things that is undesirable to someone else

Wanting:
companionship
embrace
comfort
laughter
assurance
an understanding heart (even if you may not agree with what is being said)
a smile

As I thought about it, God brought a visual picture of this little guy into my mind.

Tuck...

He's like most other little kids...
When they see someone they really like or are familiar with...
Their eyes light up, they get a wide mouth smile & they run towards the one they want...♥

I've seen Tuck do it many times...
And when he does...
It makes the person he is going towards, feel wanted...
Loved...
Special...♥

As I processed these thoughts, I had to ask myself the question:
How do I make people feel?
Wanted or needed?

Everyone wants to be needed as well as wanted but when the needing dominates the wanting...
One begins to feel used...
Taken advantage of...
Resentful.

I'm guilty as charged.

Initially the thought that went through my mind was:
Sometimes, I just want to be wanted...
I get so tired of only being needed...

But then as I mulled it over, I realized that I'm just as guilty as the next person.

When someone feels wanted...
They feel:
Loved...
Special...
Valued...
Appreciated...
Chosen.

Not because someone needs them, but because someone chooses them.
They have been chosen.
And everyone wants to be chosen.

Remember those days back in elementary school when sides were being picked for a game?

You wanted to be wanted.
You wanted to be chosen.

Some things in life never change.
Just as God intended.

So today I ask you...
As a person, do you feel wanted?
Or just needed?

I also ask you...
As a person, do you make others feel wanted?
Valued?
Special?
Appreciated?
Loved?
Chosen?

Or do you simply make them feel like an unnoticed asset?
Simply needing them for what they do?
Or what they have to give?
Yet not appreciating them for who they are...

It's something I'm really working on.

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Today, I'm thankful for last night's heart biscuit formed just for me...♥