As with all, or most, of the words I feature in Word for the Weekend, Wonder can mean different things. It is a powerful word that’s value has been largely lost on a mind that has been filled with ultra-realistic CGI. News coverage is almost instant and often graphic in nature. Television and movies have become the new imagination and kids don’t seem to know how to play anymore.
Wonder can be used to mean thinking imaginatively. “I wonder what life must have been like for the Native Americans before the European ships began to arrive.” “I wonder what thought process is involved in using toxins, such as snake venom, to cure diseases and other conditions.” Wonder is how we fill in the blanks of our knowledge.
We moved to Washington State when I was entering the 7th grade. Having spent three years experiencing the natural beauty that is Hawaii, I was in for a change of perspective.
You see, we moved to Washington in the Fall of 1981, a year-and-a-half after Mount St. Helens erupted. The cleanup was already completed as far as the cities, towns, and roads were concerned, but the violence of this force of nature was still seen in the miles and miles of leveled forests and the moon-like appearance of the landscape.
I was filled with wonder when I saw the utter destruction. The enormity and scale were beyond what my “tween” mind could comprehend.
I have stared in wonder when observing great sleight-of -hand magic tricks or watching people do things that the human body just shouldn’t be able to do.
There have been other times when I have looked upon natural beauty, or studied the complexity of the human body, or pondered the physical universe. Each time I have been dumbfounded. Stunned silence. I am in awe and wonder at all that God has done.
We need to rekindle that wonder afresh in our hearts and minds. We need to stand, once again, before a brilliant sunset and wonder. Ask God to give you a refill of wonder. Look at everything around you with fresh eyes.
Skipping Stones 
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