Wonder

Sometimes I like to share stories of life-before-the-smart-phone with my Gen-Z friend who is finishing up college. She can’t believe that one of the highlights of my college days was sitting outside the Student Center on Friday afternoons, talking and blowing bubbles with friends. I mean, there is some wonder in a smart phone, but I don’t know if I can really describe to her how much more wonder there is in blowing bubbles with friends instead of doing homework or cleaning your dorm room.

I think one of the greatest displays of God’s grace in our lives are moments of wonder. And somehow, I think even though we intentionally seek these moments, they are often found when we’re not looking for them. The sunset that just happens to be the most incredible work of art we’ve ever seen. The intense blue of a tropical ocean stretching out before us. Finding out that an average-sized cloud weighs about a million pounds. The silence of snow. The surprise of spring. Hearing a grandparent tell old stories or a little girl’s lullaby that she sings to her baby sister every night. Watching someone’s life transform for the better. Christmas.

Wonder is never far away, but it somehow comes closer when we make a little space in our lives for it. This evening I attended a Soul-to-Soul meeting. It’s a local gathering of women, mostly from Ahmadiyya Muslim, Jewish, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and mainline Christian backgrounds. Over time, I’ve gotten to know a few of the ladies, mostly the Muslim ones, and even though I’m probably the only Seventh-day Adventist in the room, I don’t feel alone. And I experience plenty of wonder. 

When I realize, as I hug my Muslim acquaintances, that strangers are becoming friends, I find wonder. When I listen to personal stories from different faith backgrounds, and find something in each that I can relate to, I find wonder. Realizing that every woman in that room is a beloved child of God, and experiencing His movement of love in my heart for all these women, I find wonder. 

I leave these occasional gatherings strengthened in my own faith, and somehow refreshed. I remember Jesus’ words to His disciples, that the world will know that Jesus is who He said He is—the Messiah, the Savior of the world—because of our love for one another. One another starts in our own families and friends and faith communities. But love does not stop there. It is always seeking to bring others into “one another.” It does not hide from those who are different—it embraces, it welcomes, it smiles, it risks being misunderstood and misunderstanding. Basically, love just shows up. And when we’re running on that kind of love, there is so much wonder waiting for us.

Wherever you find wonder, celebrate it. Share it. And invite others into it. That’s what love would do.