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Sunday in church, the pastor asked the question, “When was the last time you were filled with wonder or awe?” This was an easy question for me because it happened about two weeks ago when the Blues eliminated the San Jose Sharks in game six of the Western Conference Final to go to the Stanley Cup. I stood in Enterprise Center with tears rolling down my cheeks and just kept saying, “I don’t believe it; we’re going to the Cup.” That’s all I said because that’s all I could say. This was something I’d waited for my whole life and something I had accepted would never happen. The shock and awe that filled me was profound.
Some of you read this and think that’s silly, and I get that. I didn’t say it was the only time in my life I’ve been filled with wonder, just the last time. As you are currently pondering that question, different answers fill your mind: the birth of a child, standing on the beach and looking at the vastness of the ocean as you watch the waves crash at your feet, hearing the words, “cancer free” from your doctor. These things and so many more cause us to go into that state of wonder. But why do we need such profound things to happen to us before we get the wonder that God has laid at our feet every single day?
As I sit here and look out the window, I notice a tree. Something we see every day and something that I would say we take very much for granted. According to the Colorado State Forest Service, trees are pretty wondrous. Most of us know about photosynthesis and how this process creates food for the tree. But how about the fact that most of the tree trunk is dead tissue and only the outside is alive? The dead tissue works in conjunction with the living part to transport nutrients, feed the tree, produce new tissue and basically keep the tree alive and growing. This is just your everyday tree, doing its everyday thing and that’s not even taking into account what happens in the fall with the unbelievable colors, or the fact that trees produce oxygen for us. Talk about wonder!
In Job 37:14-16 Job is told, “Listen to this, Job; stop and consider God’s wonders. Do you know how God controls the clouds and makes his lightning flash? Do you know how the clouds hang poised, those wonders of him who has perfect knowledge?”
These words aren’t just for Job, but for all of us as we forget to notice the wonders God has given us. That tree has now become something we just have to get the branches trimmed on; that adorable child is now a teenager and a pain the butt; that ant crawling across the kitchen counter just leads us to the number for the exterminator. God’s wonder fills our everyday lives, but for many of us it takes the shock and awe moment to make us stop and take notice.
Romans 1:20 says, “For since the creation of the world, God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen.” I believe they can be clearly seen by all of us if we just take the time to slow down a second and take notice. We jam pack our lives with so much that we too often miss out on those little everyday wonders. We sit in traffic and become filled with rage because it makes us slow down our fast-paced world and while sitting there we never even glance at those clouds that were pointed out to Job. I know it is easier said than done — ask my wife how much I hate traffic — but God has blessed us with so much and our hustle and bustle often just doesn’t allow us to take note.
So, as I challenge myself this week, I also challenge you: slow down and take notice. Take notice of the God-given wonder all around you. And as you take notice, thank the one who gave it to you. Until next time, God bless.
I was thinking about God’s amazing talents just this morning as I was admiring the flowers that bloom year after year without fail.