Have You Lost Your Wonder?

And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are.

Matthew 6:28-29

We take things for granted, don't we?  When was the last time you took a walk just to hear the birds or look at the things that grow?  When was the last time you picked up a seashell and really looked closely at it?  When was the last time you took time to look at the clouds and see what shapes came to mind?

My bride and I love storms.  We are fascinated by them.  Especially the ones with lightning. A few years ago, we lived in a patio home, and we would sit in our garage in our aluminum lawn chairs watching the lightning flashes and enjoying the slow rumble of the thunder and the wind.  It took us a while to figure out that it was probably not the brightest idea to sit in aluminum chairs to watch lightning, but neither of us got zapped so that's a relief.

But watch children.  They are fascinated by everything.  Their minds are like sponges, absorbing and figuring out how something makes sense.  And they observe almost everything (and usually will tell you about it when you least need that information broadcast).

For some reason, as we grow older, we either become jaded or we simply stop looking at God's creation with wonder.  I was sitting in my home office a while back watching the squirrels in our front yard.  They would scurry around picking up acorns then they would scurry off somewhere, dig a hole, drop the acorn in it, cover it back up, and then jump up and down on the spot to pack the dirt down.  It was like watching a circus routine.

On another occasion, I was on a ridealong when the officer walked into a spider web (and, I'll admit, watching this big tough cop do the "Ninja with a bee in his britches" dance was pretty funny).  Within two hours we were back at that same spot and the spider had rebuilt his web!  That fascinated me!

When we lose that childlike wonder of all that God has provided for us (to teach us, or reach us) we have lost one of His greatest gifts!