Where Did the Wonder Go?

Where did the wonder go? When did you notice that you had wonder? Was it when you were sitting on the grass under a tree? Was it when you looked up at the sky? What was it that captured your mind? When and why did you stop to smell the roses? When did we wonder and when did we lose it?

Life is so busy and hectic. It is taking us for a ride. Sometimes it is as if we are just back-seat drivers and we are on automatic drive. The faster we go, the less detail we can absorb. We can turn our heads to see a beautiful grove of trees, but there is no time to really look at them. There is no time to get caught up in the random beauty of it. Besides flying by in my car, I have things on my mind. How soon will I get there? Did I forget to close the garage door? Or maybe I am listening to the radio. There is a song from my teen years. (Dating myself here.)

Singing “I wonder, wonder who, who-oo-ooh, who (Who wrote the book of love)” Book of Love by the Monotones (1958)

Motown really gets you snapping your fingers and makes my toe tap on the gas pedal a little more than it should. I am having a lot of fun singing along with this, although, it too, is keeping my attention from that fleeting look at something potentially heartwarming or fulfilling. But that does not matter because I am distracted and I love my little distractions from real life. Where did my wonder go?

There are things you notice that you seem to have missed when riding in a car. Did you ever go for a motorcycle ride? Before you drive near the creek, you can smell the water and feel its coolness. You missed that in the car. You see weeds alongside the road. They are green and kind of pretty in that green and pretty way. The green smells good. You missed that in the car. There is a hubcap and candy wrappers alongside the road. You wish the trash were not there, but you certainly did not notice those wrappers when you were in the car. Are you missing out on the wonder? Missing the smells and colors in life? Has “smelling the roses” become something you enjoyed in the distant past? Have you forgotten to take the time to notice the wonders of this world and His glorious creation?

A verse in “I Wonder as I Wander”

If Jesus had wanted for any wee thing
A star in the sky or a bird on the wing
Or all of God’s angels in heaven to sing
He surely could've had it, 'cause he was the king.*

The King of all creation certainly is aware of the gifts mankind was given. Does it sadden Him to watch us waste these precious moments on worldly and many times unimportant distractions? To smell, to hear, and to see are all amazing gifts of the senses. To wonder as we wander is a most precious gift. Do not forget to wonder!

Remember walking to school? Remember rushing to get out of the house because you are almost late? The cars are rushing by on their morning commute. I am walking alongside the road in the gravel or dirt. Look! There is that hubcap and there are the candy wrappers someone threw out their window. Oh, next to the wrapper is a dandelion in its yellow glory! Just growing there, and nobody cares. But today I got to enjoy that blossom that was in the midst of the trash. Nobody saw it today except me. It was a piece of God’s wonderful creation that was just being ignored. I got to “stop and smell the roses” this morning. It made my walk to school mean more to me today. I have always wondered about how God made a flower with such intense color, but humans call it a weed. Oh, how I love to wonder.

I used to have time to ponder. Then came babies, houses, bills, and jobs. I come home and cook dinner and wash laundry. I sit down in front of the TV. Thank God I can put my feet up and be happily distracted. Oh no! I forgot to make tomorrow’s lunches

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In our busy lives, who has the time or energy to ponder? When was the last time I had the opportunity to “wonder as I wander?” I get into bed and say goodnight to God, promising to give Him more time tomorrow.

Oh, the joys of getting older. My mind now gets to “wander as I wonder.” It takes longer to do everything. I no longer make my bed or do my dishes in a flash. In fact, ever since I quit having flashes, my body does nothing in a flash! That’s okay. I no longer have thoughts from the world, business, and duties crashing uninvited into my head. I wash the dishes and see a butterfly out my window. I pause and watch where it is going. Delightful sight. My mind gets to wander and to wonder for those moments while I am in awe at God’s creation again. I have stopped what I am doing. I smile, I hear my thoughts, and I see special moments. I smile because I have found wonder again. Now, where did I wander?

*"I Wonder as I Wander" is a Christian folk hymn, typically performed as a Christmas carol, written by American folklorist and singer John Jacob Niles. The hymn has its origins in a song fragment collected by Niles on July 16, 1933. ~ (Wikipedia)

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