They were walking to their seats at the circus, father and daughter, hand-in-hand past the clowns and the animals and the general chaos of a circus tent. He surprised her when he stopped at the cotton candy stand and pulled out his wallet.
“Do I get to have some of that?”, the little girl asked as she held tightly to his hand. “It’s so pretty and pink and fluffy, just the color of my princess room at home!”, she said in awe.
“Yes, sweetie…I don’t think you can visit the circus without trying the cotton candy! And you’re right – it is the same color as your room and looks to be just about as sweet as you are! Certainly fit for my little princess!”, her father answered as he paid the vendor and handed her the sugary confection. She took it, and as the cottony sweetness dissolved on her tongue a memory was formed that stayed with her for years to come; a moment when, in the midst of a circus, she relished the adoration of her daddy.
Years later, a woman was finishing the dishes after a particularly trying family dinner. Her three-year-old would not stay in his chair and the baby had dumped her dinner on the dog’s head. Leaving her to clean up the mess, her husband had retreated to his office to finish emails from the office. Never mind that she had her own emails and a deadline looming ever so closely on her big project at work. She passed the laundry room and her piles from three days ago, as she took the trash out to the garage. “My life is a circus,” she grumbled to herself.
She got the kids bathed, read to and prayers said, then tucked the little darlings in bed. It was dusk, and she decided to take a quick walk and try to clear her head. She poked her head into her husband’s office to announce her plan, and with his grunt of acknowledgement, she headed out the door.
Instantly, a breeze gently caressed her. She walked purposefully, trying hard to let the cares of her day, her life, roll off. It was really quiet out, no cars going by or sounds of other people’s voices. It was so peaceful. As she rounded the corner to the west, she stopped in her t
racks at the sight before her. The sky was extradordinary, dressed in its sunset colors. She just stood there, in amazement at what she saw and then the memory came flooding back -the cotton candy day with her dad.
racks at the sight before her. The sky was extradordinary, dressed in its sunset colors. She just stood there, in amazement at what she saw and then the memory came flooding back -the cotton candy day with her dad. 
With tears streaming down her face, she received the same gift from her Heavenly Father…a cotton candy sky, given to His princess in the midst of a circus, to reassure her of His complete devotion and total delight in her.
He brought me out into a spacious place; He rescued me because He delighted in me.
Psa. 18:19
Oh, that is beautiful.
Just this morning I was thinking about ‘why am I here’, and remembered that I am here for God’s pleasure. I am here for Him to delight in me, and He does. That makes me smile just to think about it again right now.