Where's the wonder?

Last weekend, God was very present. As the master artist was contentedly reshaping things, mending cracked places and restoring broken pieces. I will never have words to explain the eternal, supernatural things I sensed at work in my mind, body, soul and spirit. The thing is, it didn't just happen this weekend. It's been happening. Day by day, moment by moment... since the second I gave up and said "God, you deal with this mess, cause all I am doing is making a bigger mess."

In that spirit, I claimed this year to be the "Year of So Much More." And God has proven to be ever faithful. Sometimes the change has come so gently, I never even noticed until it had happened and other times it has been harder and even painful. But only because admitting how short we really fall and how selfish our thoughts can be is never pleasant but is necessary. Every moment has been a choice I had to make... keep following, stop here or turn back. One foot in front of the other I have kept going. I have been so blessed. I know what I would have missed out on had I not trusted Him completely. I have agonized. I have cried (way more than I wish to admit, but need to). I have laughed. I have been in awe (the real kind where you just sit with your jaw on the ground and can't even begin to wrap your brain around it). And through it all, I have been changed for good.

Yesterday, on my very frustrating and slow drive through Michigan construction home, I began to realize something. When did we lose the wonder? When did we get to a place where we expect life to be mostly routine? We pray a little, read the bible and maybe a devotional. We know God is there but don't expect to get any answer really. On the few occasions we do, we think of it as a every now and again thing. Or we hear of some "miracle" or amazing thing God did for someone else and we wonder why we never experience that. We question why we are not "worthy" enough for God to speak to and use us in those ways.

More and more I see it differently.

We have lost our wonder.

Do we marvel at the way a tree grows? How it knows just when to bloom, or where to spread out a new branch? Do we marvel at our ability to think and feel? Do we see a miracle in the sun rising and setting each day? Or have these just become part of the routine?

So many times recently, I have found myself in wonder at the things of God. A sentence that seems to come out of nowhere into my head and ends up being exactly what another person needed to hear right then. Each time it happened I found myself thinking.... God's outdone himself this time... I'm not sure he can top that... This is going to have to end soon...

Oh ye of little faith.

Guess what? It doesn't have to end. It will never end. It's impossible for God to out-do himself. He can always bring more if you are seeking it.

In my heart, I believe that if we could just reclaim and grasp a hold of wonder again, God is just waiting.... He'll put a song in your heart that will make you skip down the road. He'll give you a hug from a child so pure your heart will melt. Put in some pigtails and smile at the sun and whistle to the birds. This is prayer language. This will get us deeper into his presence than pretty words that sound good to "pray." Recapture your wonder.

let me say that again... Recapture your wonder.

If God is who we believe He is, shouldn't we experience him intensely every day. And shouldn't that intensity change us every day to be more like him. Tangible change daily. It is possible. I might not have believed it before, but I cannot doubt it any longer. Our love will be different, toward God, towards ourselves and towards others. If we start to live like that...whoa... watch out! Change like that is contagious. Your wonder will make others wonder.

Live in wonder and see how crazy awesome our loving God REALLY is!!!