Wonder

 In Featured, Pastor Paul's Blog

By Pastor Paul Gauche

Today’s word: Wonder as in… the experience of surprise and curiosity mingled with awe and wonder caused by something beautiful and unexpected.

It was a moment of pure wonder when a little boy peeked into a dusty art studio in the ancient city of Florence, Italy. Months before, walking from home to school, the boy observed the now-famous sculptor, painter, and architect Michelangelo studying a formless chunk of marble. Several months later, the little boy stood breathless in the studio doorway, gazing at the enormous and magnificent marble carving of a lion. Legend has it that the little boy famously asked Michelangelo, “How did you know the lion was inside the marble?”

There’s a subtle difference between the kind of wonder that finds us asking questions and the kind of wonder that leaves us speechless. Sometimes wonder merely seeks information: “I wonder if it’s going to rain all day.” “I wonder if there are any tickets left.” Wonder like this seeks information, data, and details.

But there is another kind of wonder that leads to a deeper, more expansive life, the kind of wonder that pushes us toward a deeper awareness of what it means to be human, what it means to be filled with the Spirit, what it means to bear the image of the Divine. This kind of wonder captures us, wraps itself around us, and fills us.

Instead of having wonder about something, this kind of wonder has us. Instead of seeking information and asking questions about details and data, this kind of wonder provides us with a beautiful and expansive place where we don’t say anything at all. Instead, it is where we experience surprise and curiosity mingled with awe and wonder caused by something beautiful and unexpected.

Thriving Reflections:

++ Describe an experience of wonder that impacted you in a significant way.

++ Are these moments of wonder more about places or people?

++ When you experience moments of surprise and curiosity mingled with awe and wonder caused by something beautiful and unexpected, how does that create a deeper sense of thriving for you?

#100days50words

#Thriv’ëra

Paul Gauche is the Pastor of Life Transitions at Prince of Peace. His posts are part of his #100days50words project, where he blogs about a different word each day. You can follow his project on Instagram (@pgauche) or his blog,  Thriv’ëra Rhythms.

 

 

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