Wonder

I was at a red light when I saw them.
A beautiful tree was right near the intersection.
The people, I barely saw, were almost hidden.
They were tucked away behind a low hanging branch.

I was only there at the light for a few short minutes.
I could see a woman and a man with a little baby in his arms.
The baby was patting the leaves that were in front of them.
The mother was pointing to the leaves that had already begun to change color.

Both parents were smiling.
The baby was enthralled.
It was only a leaf.
They were merely under a tree with a low hanging branch.

I thought about them as the light turned green.
I wondered how long they would stand there.
I wondered what the mom and dad were saying to the baby.
I wondered…

I was really wondering about wonder.
I smiled as I thought about the newness of the leaves in the world of the baby.
Something that I and the baby’s parents take for granted, is new and exciting to this little one.
Something we see every day was fascinating to this child.

Have we lost our sense of wonder?
Have we become so used to our world that our fascination is gone?
Have we become so accustomed to our surroundings that we fail to really see them?
Are we walking around looking down rather than looking up and around us?

There was not a phone in sight with this couple and their baby.
There was not even a phone taking a picture of the baby’s encounter with the leaves.
That fact that it was happening seemed to be enough.
The memory was being made without documentation.

We must always be on the lookout for the presence of wonder. (E. B. White)

E.B.White, was the author of Charlotte’s Web, Stuart Little, and The Trumpet of the Swan.
E.B.White understood wonder.
He understood that wonder is all around us, but it is up to us to look for it and find it.
Only a man who believed that, could write the kind of books E.B.White wrote.

A paralytic was lowered through the roof for Jesus to heal him.
His friends brought him to Jesus but, because of the crowds, there was no room for them to enter.
Jesus saw their faith and told the man that his sins were forgiven.
The Pharisees and teachers of the law thought: who can forgive sins but God alone? (Luke 5:21)

Jesus knew what they were thinking and asked, “Why are you thinking these things in your hearts? Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the paralyzed man, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.  Immediately he stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying on and went home praising God. Everyone was amazed and gave praise to God. They were filled with awe and said, “We have seen remarkable things today.” (Luke 5:22-26)

A man getting up from a mat after being paralyzed is indeed remarkable.
A man whose sins are forgiven is even more remarkable, though not as obvious to the crowd.
A baby seeing and touching a leaf for the first time is remarkable.
Seeing the gorgeous colors of the leaves as the season changes is equally remarkable.

How many wonders do we miss each day because we are simply unaware?
How many wonders are before us but we are looking at our phones and never see them?
How many wonders do we fail to point out to children because we are so used to them?
How much do we, ourselves, fail to see?

The world is full of magic things, patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper.
(W.B. Yeats)

God’s world is full of wonder.
Are we too distracted to see it?
I am so thankful for the mom and dad and precious baby I saw at the red light.
May they always point out the wonder in the everyday to their child.

May we look for wonder as well.
It is all around us in the simplest things.