My grandson’s favorite grape tomatoes ripen to a vivid orange in the sunshine on one of the outside rows of my garden. When he was a toddler, he would quiver with delight whenever we picked them together, filling container after container with their bright beauty—and a small cupful to stow in his cup holder for the ride home. Children do not take for granted that small orange balls of deliciousness show up in the summertime, that they burst with flavor between your teeth, that they produce with ridiculous abundance for a short season, and then are gone with the first frost.
As we delight together in the miracle of fruition in my garden, my grandchildren school me in the practice of awe. For example, when I’m walking outside and the bees are hard at work ransacking the honeysuckle bushes for all they are worth, it is an act of worship to stop and listen to their buzzing productivity. The small insects’ devotion to the task at hand instructs me in unity of purpose and focus for my own calling.
Imagination as a Pathway to Loving God
Our big-picture thinking ends up shaping the minutes of our days, and the inclusion of delight, playfulness, imagination, and love of nature becomes a scope and sequence that shapes our thinking about God. Embedding the spiritual practice of noticing God at work in the beauty around us sharpens our prayer life and leads us to worship in the present moment. In The Gift of Wonder, Christine Aroney-Sine works this out personally by taking regular Wonder Walks with her husband, and has introduced me to this spiritually seismic question: “What has God enjoyed today about who I am and what I do?”
The imaginative practice of painting names and inspiring phrases on rocks to serve as prayer reminders is an alternative to structured list-making. Using colored markers and clipboards for note-taking during a sermon can heighten comprehension and retention for some listeners. As a gardener, I find that God’s voice comes to me more clearly when my hands are in the dirt.
Finding God in the Present Moment
My grandson’s enjoyment of grape tomatoes is not lessened by the fleeting nature of the season or by foreshadowings of the coming frost. He takes every flavorful bite as it comes, and this ability to live in the present is a gift to the very young, but not inaccessible to adults.
Creative spiritual practices reassure the believer that God is not a workaholic–even as he is always at work! Therefore, the invitation and the example are one. He longs for us to enjoy him and to enter into his singing, buzzing, fluttering, splashing creation as co-creators–lovers of God who bring maximum glory to him.
God is not a workaholic, even as he is always at work. He invites us to enjoy him, to enter into his singing, buzzing, fluttering, splashing creation as co-creators–lovers of God who bring maximum glory to him.
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And Now Let’s Talk Books…
Karen Wright Marsh has a true gift for making historical figures stand up and walk off the page with encouragement to wake up, reach out, go deep, and dwell in amazement. Wake Up to Wonder features 22 vignettes drawn from the lives of saints who accepted God’s invitation to wonder. As our older brothers and sisters, their lives and their examples mentor us in spiritual practices that provide solid footing in unsettling times.
I was delighted to encounter fresh thoughts on familiar friends like Saint Patrick and Brother Lawrence and intrigued to make the acquaintance of (to me) more obscure names including Margery Kempe, Fannie Lou Hamer, and Ephrem the Syriac. The story of each guide is followed by suggested spiritual practices that beckon the reader to go “further up and further in” with Christ. If you have a journal, keep it handy because you will want to record significant quotes from the wealth of wisdom collected in these pages.
The book is well-named for a generation of believers who have been lulled to sleep by comfort and entertainment and who need to wake up to the wonder that we live every moment in the presence of the miraculous. We enjoy God’s unwavering attention! May I never cease to live in wonder!
P.S. For more guidance from ancient brothers and sisters in Christ, look to Karen’s previous book Vintage Saints and Sinners. You can read my review HERE.
Holding You in the Light,
“I don’t need to find and follow the perfect plan. (What a relief!) What I truly need is people I can follow—older sisters, brothers, mentors… who have been this way before.” Karen Wright Marsh in #WakeUptoWonder via @BrazosPress
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P.S. Another Resource!
The Gift of Wonder: Creative Practices for Delighting in God, is another resource inviting readers into wonder. Christine Aroney-Sine has produced a curriculum of awe, reminding readers of spiritual practices, which can be as natural and as much a part of our life as eating a ripe tomato.
Free Encouragement in Your Inbox…
On the third Thursday of every month, I send a newsletter with biblical encouragement straight to my subscribers’ email inboxes. Frequently, I share free resources, and the newsletter is where everything lands first. I’m committed to the truth that women can become confident followers of God and students of his Word, and it’s my goal to help you along that path.
To add this free resource to your pursuit of biblical literacy, simply CLICK HERE. There, on Substack’s website, you’ll find a prompt that looks just like this image for Living Our Days with Michele Morin. Over on that site, simply enter your email and then click on the purple “SUBSCRIBE” button.
You’ll receive a welcome letter to confirm your subscription and monthly encouragement in your email inbox.
I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees. If you should decide to purchase any of the books or products I’ve shared, simply click on the image, and you’ll be taken directly to the seller. If you decide to buy, I’ll receive a few pennies at no extra cost to you.
Many thanks to the Brazos Press and NetGalley for providing a copy of this book to facilitate my review, which is, of course, offered freely and with honesty.
Living Our Days 
I, too, hear God’s voice when my hands are busy in the dirt, clay, sink of dirty dishes or hands on the steering wheel.
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It’s wonderful that God meets us in those unguarded moments.
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It is amazing how children re-awaken our senses to creation, helping us to awaken to our Creator. Our 5YO will get off her bike and squat to watch ants at work. She will hover over our potted flowers to watch queen bees flit about. She notices not only their sound but their “fuzziness”, which always makes me smile. I am so grateful God knew exactly what I would need to draw me in so I would enjoy and worship Him. Oh, the wonder of it all!
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Reawaken is a great word, Joanne, because I do think we get busy and go into auto-pilot unless we are jarred into noticing by our little people who MISS NOTHING!
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I too revel in the wonder that young children find everywhere and express with exuberance. And I love that question from Christine Aroney-Sine: “What has God enjoyed today about who I am and what I do?” Well worth pondering! Thank you for the encouragement to enjoy our Heavenly Father with creative spiritual practices, Michele.
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I wonder if any of us ever give a single thought to the way our behavior lands on the heart of our Heavenly Father. What could be more consequential?
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Agreed!
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I remember as a child being amazed that I had eyes and could see out of them! We do need to rekindle that sense of awe for all God has done.
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What a great memory! If only we could remain small enough to ourselves to continue our lives in amazement at all the gifts!
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Oddly enough, I think I notice more now than I did was a was a kid. Maybe I’ve learned that life is lived over the long haul, and I get more out of it–and am able to give more to those around me–when I’m paying attention? I understand the delight your grandson gets from homegrown grape tomatoes …
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I’m glad you said that, Lois, because I know it’s true of me also. I think I was fairly oblivious as a kid, and I missed a lot!
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I love this statement you made, Michele: “God is not a workaholic, even as he is always at work. He invites us to enjoy him, to enter into his singing, buzzing, fluttering, splashing creation as co-creators–lovers of God who bring maximum glory to him.” I too love to see God in His creation of the smallest bumble bee on my sage bush to the mountains that tower over us here in Colorado!
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Colorado is certainly beautiful. And the vast difference between your views and mine here in Maine is yet another example of God’s creativity!
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This is a very timely article, Michelle! I’ve been challenged to take an adventure with God. He calls us to love him with mind, heart, and soul. And I can default to mind! Our spiritual practice require all three and going on a “wonder” adventure is an obedient act of drawing us closer to the One who created all!
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That’s a great point and I’m wondering if that default to mind (which I share!) is driven more by temperament or by the culture? Interesting…
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Michele, there’s so much about this post to love. I find that when I am walking outdoors it’s easy to worship. I marvel at God’s creativity—the way He plays lights, shadow, and color. I breathe deeper. I love your reminder to live in the present moment, like your grandson does. Yes, so much about this post to love.
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Just back from a brisk walk and saying a big YES to your words! Thank you so much for your encouragement!
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I’ve been reading poetry lately (unusual for me! lol) and one of Mary Oliver’s poems “Wild Geese” mentions imagination too: “the world offers itself to your imagination.” I’m thankful that imagination is indeed a pathway for many good things, including loving God.
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I love Mary Oliver and think of this poem whenever wild geese fly overhead. (We’re apparently on their route south.) I hadn’t remembered this reference to imagination , though, so I guess I need to take another look!
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I love those awe inspiring moments in the every day. And I love intentionally stopping to praise and give glory to him in those small things in the every day, like the bees and so much more.
Thanks so much for sharing this wonderful message with Sweet Tea & Friends this month.
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Yes, the day is full of an infinite number of reasons to stop and give thanks!
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