A
Christmas Wish
“Men
go abroad to wonder at the heights of mountains, at the huge waves of
the sea, at the long courses of the rivers, at the vast compass of
the ocean, at the circular motions of the stars, and they pass by
themselves without wondering.”
St.
Augustine
Are
you a person given to wonder? Last summer, I sat on a Pacific beach
and watched sun-browned, towheaded youth glide through the curls of
enormous waves until water closed over them and crashed back into the ocean. I marveled at their dexterity, and wondered how on earth one
can stand and balance on a slim board in moving water. I barely do
that on solid ground. Later in the year, in the North Carolina
mountains, I saw fields of grain yield to the wind in the same
wave-like pattern, and was mesmerized by the movement. A couple of
nights ago, just before five in the evening, the sky outside turned
an ominous shade of green—never a good sign in this tornado prone
part of the world. I watched as a wall of thick, black clouds
marched, like the armies of Mordor, behind that light. All of nature
is wondrous, even the nature in your own back yard.
We
rarely think of ourselves as equally fascinating. We are a marvel of
engineering that we notice only when something goes wrong. Our hearts
beat seventy-two times per minute without being told. Every couple of
seconds, bidden or not, our lungs fill with air. Our brains
coordinate with our fingers to write words, compose music, soothe a
crying child; and with our feet to walk, run and dance. We think, and
create and emote; curiosity is our very nature. With our senses, we
take in the world and are awed by its majesty.
“I
praise you, because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works
are wonderful,” says Psalm 139. My wish for you this Christmas day, and
for the year to come, is that you are awake with wonder—for our world, for
your fellow human beings, and for yourself.
In
the Spirit,
Jane
1 comment:
Great post! Love the quote from Augustine -- that's a new one to me.
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