wonder
a feeling of surprise mingled with admiration, caused by something beautiful, unexpected, unfamiliar, or inexplicable
This past weekend I had the amazing opportunity to hike one of the most beautiful volcanoes in Guatemala.
My group was about 9 people- rockstar friends who love creation and all The Lord can speak to a heart through it. We began our trek early and ended it about 6 hours later. We climbed a total of around 13,000 ft.
We arrived at our base camp and got to enjoy the most amazing view of a second volcano right outside of our tents. I’m talking eye-level with the top of an ever-erupting volcano called Fuego.
Our incredible guides cooked us dinner while we sat in a tent together playing games and listening to rain hit the fly.
We slept through the rain and the rumbling of Fuego. All the while praying that The Lord would stop the rain in the morning and give us an incredible view of Guatemala as we finished our hike up to the tip-top of the volcano.
We woke up around 3:30 am to start our hike to the summit. Immediately noticing the absence of the sound of rain on our tents. We opened our tent door to see Fuego erupting and bright red lava running down the sides of it. We began our hike- all bundled up in coats, hats, and warm clothes that we had purchased at a thrift store near our host home. All way too big for us and a little goofy looking.
As we hiked the sun was rising over Guatemala.
One of the greatest joys in my life is a good sunrise- the kind that take your breath away. The kind that start slow but explode in color and life. The kind that you just want to soak in. And that’s exactly what The Lord gave me.
When we got to the summit the temperature had dropped about 20 degrees and the wind was biting. Thank goodness for the oversized coat I got at the thrift store. At the summit we got to sit, enjoy, and soak in the view and the sunrise and the cold.
I remember my squad mate looking at me and saying, “Abby, you have so much joy on your face right now.”
I didn’t even realize how big I was smiling until she said it. I was grinning from ear to ear. Tears were welling in my eyes as I looked over Guatemala from one of its highest peaks. Watching as The Lord brought new light, new life, and new mercies to the cities below.
And I couldn’t stop. The burning in my legs. The biting wind on my face. Nothing could steal the joy I felt in that moment.
There’s something really rare and special about getting into a place of childlike awe and wonder with the Lord.
I realized I had forgotten how to gaze at Him and be amazed at what He could do. Who He is. What He’s already done and what He’s doing right now. I couldn’t remember the last time I had just sat in front of Him and said, “Wow, Daddy!”
God is constantly offering us opportunities to sit in wonder and awe of Him. There’s never going to be a lack of wonderous things for us to see and experience. We have a choice in the thing- we can choose to be so preoccupied with the details of our lives that we miss out on what He’s doing and showing us or we can develop a sense of wonder, for the big things and the little things.
Yes, there’s so much wonder in seeing the sun rise over a beautiful volcano.
But there’s also wonder in friendship.
Theres wonder in the way the smell of coffee drifts from your kitchen into your bedroom into the morning.
Theres wonder in the way the wind blows the seeds on dandelions.
I’m learning that getting to a place of awe and wonder with Jesus doesn’t have to be so rare after all. Wonder is a mindset that I can have. A perspective I can choose. A way that I can position my heart.
I’m gonna look for the things. The things that make my heart skip a beat. The things that bring tears to my eyes. A smile to my face. The things that make my jaw drop. The things that make my heart sing.
Wonder is available. All the time. Just read the gospel. If the truth of your salvation doesn’t bring some awe and wonder to your heart… well my goodness. Let’s chat sometime about that.
Today I’m thankful that my God is the God of wonder. The God of everything, everyone, and everywhere. I’m mostly thankful that He’s offered me a life full of opportunities to sit in front of Him and say, “Wow, Dad!”
