I am proud of YOU.
What goes through you head when you hear that? If it is offered to someone else, is it something like, "Why doesn't anyone say that to me?" And, if it is offered to me, is it something like, "Really? Why, what did I do?"
We want it and don't expect it, at the same time. And, we tie it to something that has been or should be done...in order to deserve it. What happens when we think about it without attaching whether we deserve it or not? Why is it that when we offer such a statement to someone else, we don't necessarily want to add the reason for it. We express it, because it is true, like a parent to a child, not based on whether or not it was earned. But, when we receive it, we feel the need to know...why?
I am proud of you communicates that I accept you, that I enjoy you...no strings attached. And, I want you to know it, especially in a world that only offers it with the condition of continued performance. That's not what I want. Perhaps, that is why I am curious about the reason when it is offered to me.
It is both disorienting and relieving to hear such words of acceptance and pleasure from someone else. Perhaps, God said it best when He said about His Son, "This is my Son, in whom I am well pleased." ...because he was doing a good job? No, because He loved him so.
Like the beauty of this morning, with its snow flurries dancing in between me and the sun behind them, I want to offer my "I am proud of YOU" to someone I love today.
