THE JOY OF WONDER

In this very, very busy world in which we live and move and have our being, we are encouraged time and again to “Stop and smell the roses”. The emphasis is on “stop”. We can see much of the world as we travel its highways and byways, but we only get a glimpse of what that world really is. But unless we actually stop and take a serious look at what are eyes behold, we will never really see what we are looking at.

Those in the know, and I am not one of them, tell us that we need to spend at least fifteen seconds observing whatever it is we have cast our eyes upon to really see and smell that rose, for instance. It is only when we stop and take serious time to see and smell that we can experience the joy of the wonder of God’s creation. Otherwise, I think, we take so much, if not all, of creation for granted.

Well, I know I do. I’ve seen it all before, I say to myself. But the truth is that I have not really seen it. I looked at it but did not see the essence of it, whatever that “it” happens to be. That is true not only of the world around us and everything in that world, but it is even more true about the people around us. It is only when we take the time to truly see the other person that we can find the joy that person brings into our lives.

How often have we said to ourselves that we did not expect to see what we just saw? We stood there in wonder. “I never saw that coming,” we say. “I never expected that from her.” “He surely surprised me!” Why were we so stupefied, if you will? Because we had never taken the time to get to know that person. We just sort of took him or her for granted and let it go at that.

Not until we were overjoyed as we stood there in wonder at what we had just seen, just experienced, that is. Life is full of surprises mostly, I dare say, because we tend to rush through so much of it that we miss so much of what is right there in front of us. The good part is that at least when we do take the time to stop and make eye contact, we see something or someone wonderful and that fills us with joy.

The old song tells us to slow down because we move too fast, that we need to make the moment last. Being told what to know, even knowing what to do does not always make us do what we should. We keep on moving too fast through life and, as a consequence, miss so much of what God is trying to help us see but won’t make us either stop or open our eyes even when we do. It is up to us.

The memories of those times when we did in fact stop and smell the roses, when we stopped and had a conversation with someone we have known for so long but never really got to know are only reminders of how much joy there is for us to experience when we are overcome by the wonder of what we have just experienced. We need to slow down and take time each day to experience the joy of wonder.