When it happens to me, I feel fully alive. A momentary shift of perspective, sometimes intentional, sometimes a surprise. Often it’s a spiritual experience—even supernatural. What am I talking about?

Wonder.

It can occur in the most ordinary ways…a robin building her nest in the eaves of our front porch…tiny beaks appearing, open and hungry…the process of learning to fly.

Or how about my little ten-month-old granddaughter, lifting one hand to greet me. She’s on the cusp of forming words. I wonder at the miracle of language and the nuances of tiny gestures.

As author Anthony Doerr said, sublimity (is) “the instant when one thing is about to become something else. Day to night, caterpillar to butterfly. Fawn to doe. Experiment to result. Boy to man.”[i]

When I watched Planet Earth, each episode inspired me to the point of worship. As it is written in Job, “Stand and consider the wonders of God. Do you know how God establishes them, and makes the lightning of His cloud to shine? Do you know about the layers of the thick clouds, the wonders of one perfect in knowledge? Can you, with Him, spread out the skies, strong as a molten mirror? Out of the north comes golden splendor; around God is awesome majesty.”[ii]

I marvel at the historical formation of America. Bono of U2 put it this way…Continue reading