Take Time to Wonder

It's been a while since I've posted something new. I could explain myself, or I could just say I'm sorry and jump right back in to what I was doing... Sorry it's been so long! =)

Over Christmas break, I started reading The Knowledge of the Holy by A.W. Tozer. Now, I could talk for DAYS AND DAYS about all of the amazing things I have read so far in this book, but one thing in particular struck me and I've camped out on it for weeks now.

After writing about a man who sees a sunrise for the first time ever and is overwhelmed at the sight, Tozer offers a sobering thought: "How different are we who have grown used to it, who have become jaded with a satiety of wonder." ...Wow...

Let's define some things for the sake of understanding, shall we? I know we are all brilliant scholars, but as I learned in my education classes, you can't just assume that people know what you are talking about.
- "Jaded" - Tired, bored, or lacking enthusiasm, typically after having had too much of something.
- "Satiety" - The state of being satisfactorily full and unable to take on more.
- "Wonder" - Attention or astonishment at something awesomely mysterious or new to one's experience.
Recap: Tozer is saying that because we see so much of the awesomeness and mystery of the Lord in His creation, we have become bored with it because we see it so often.... ouch.

Story: When I first moved to Nevada, I woke up every day, without fail, and sat on my back porch for a few minutes, marveling at the glorious mountains that I can see from there. I would sit there every day and never grow tired of how beautiful those mountains are. In the summer, they house some of the only green in the high desert that isn't on a fabricated lawn. In the winter, the snowy peaks look like a postcard; almost fake, like they were painted by some great artist. Then it happened. I started waking up every day, and there they were, those same mountains. I started to think to myself, "Yeah, they pretty much look how they looked yesterday. Cool,"and I would move on to the rest of my day. It got to the point where I didn't even bother looking out the window at them anymore.

Then I read this line by Tozer, and it hit me. I had become jaded. I had become bored with the majesty and glory and incredible beauty of God's creation. I had "seen enough of it" and didn't feel the need to stop and take it all in. I had stopped making time to see the Lord in the little things, or even the big things. I issued a challenge to myself that day, and I want to share it with you:  

Every day, at least once, take time to wonder at God. 

Sometimes, I wonder at how the colors of the sky melt together in a beautiful sunset. Purple, red, orange, pink... they all run together like watercolors splashed over the horizon, and it's never the same.  Sometimes, I wonder at how few things are more refreshing than the smell of rain. A deep breath in, and I can just smell the newness falling from the sky. Sometimes, I wonder at how the sun rises every morning without an alarm clock. I wake up, and the sun is always faithful to rise. It never has a day that it sleeps in late or forgets to shine.

Now it's your turn. Every day, take time to wonder at God. I promise, it never gets old and you will never run out of things to wonder at. <3