Opening Prayer: O Divine Voice, You sing and the universe
comes into being; O Divine Breath, You breathe and all things spring to life; O
Divine Word, You call and creation is sustained; O Divine Flesh, You are born
among us, and the Creator is clothed in creation; O Divine Spirit, You contain
all that has been formed; O Divine Life, You are the pulse of all that is; and
so in faithful expectation, in wonder and celebration we gather to remember
this mystery: in you all things live and move and have being, in all things,
you live and move and express your Divine artistry; and so we join with
creation in the eternal song of worship and devotion. Amen. ~Brian McLaren
Scripture: Psalm 77:11-20
Journal: When you read the words, I will remember the
deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your wonders of old, what comes to
mind? Where have you experienced
wonder lately? When is the last time you
were overwhelmed by God’s deeds, or by his character?
Reflection:
I guess, if you really thought about it, a good
definition for the word wonder might be anything that makes you say,
“Wow!” And wow is a really
great word. Think back to the last time
you said it. What were the circumstances? What happened within you? What fruit did it produce? According to Anne Lamott the word wow is
one of the three great words of prayer—along with help and thanks. I don’t know about you, but I don’t say wow
nearly enough. And I have a
suspicion that it’s most often because I’m not paying attention. My guess is that if I was really paying
attention I would see a lot to wow about—both big things and small
things. I’m usually okay at noticing the
big things—usually—but I could use significant help in noticing the small
things.
One summer while I was working at a Young
Life camp, I was taking my normal early morning stroll to the dining hall when
I noticed something out of the corner of my eye. Something was fluttering. At first I thought it was a bunch of
butterflies, but when I stopped and looked closer I noticed that dancing atop
the red and pink wildflowers that I passed on my daily trek were at least thirty
goldfinches. It was absolutely
beautiful—a definite wow moment.
As I stood there in wonder, taking it all in, another one of the
camp staff, who was driving by in a golf cart, stopped to ask me why I was
standing in the middle of the road. When
I showed him what I was looking at he was immediately captured as well. “I wonder how many days this has been going
on and I have just driven right by without noticing it?” he wondered. And for a long time we just watched in
silence.
Moments of wonder are all around us if we
are paying attention. And many, even
this very day, will pass us by without our noticing. Where might God be inviting you to stop and
take a look at what he is doing today?
Where is God showing up regularly, just hoping that someday you might slow
down enough to pay attention and be caught up in wonder? Whatever you do, pay attention to the little
things. Because when you do you will
find that the little things are not really little things at all, but
invitations to stop and say, “Wow!”
Prayers
Closing Prayer: Lord God, author, creator, sustainer, artist,
poet, and giver of life; help us to pay attention this day to all of the people
and the places and the things that could cause us to stop and say “Wow” if
we would just give them the chance. Amen.
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