In Need of a Dose of Wonder

We are restless and tired....

                                      weary and worried....

                                                                    conflicted and confused. 

I look at this growing list of descriptive words of the feelings friends are sharing with me and realize not one of them is a physical symptom - something easily remedied by a dose of medication.  No, these are heart and soul issues that each one of us is having to come to terms with as the days of pandemic and political unrest continue in our world. 

Is it our uncertainty? Well, that's one thing we can be certain of - there will be uncertainty.  John 16:63 reminds us that "in this world, we will have trouble." But for many of us it is hard to get our minds around the fact that there is so much trouble - people are dying, cities are burning, and evil seems to be rampant. We feel so helpless as we "stand in our watchtower of prayer and wait" trying really hard to trust that God will ultimately take charge of His world and make it right. We watch and wait.

I try to stay busy with little things I can do to make my world better - feeding the homeless, writing notes of encouragement and blog posts, loving my neighbors, checking on family, studying the Bible, praying for delivery. There are times though when I just have to stop and mentally transport myself away to another world - either through music or a book or a memory of better days.

Today I found myself rereading a section of When God Comes Near. Megan had been ill for several months and as I sat by her side, I found myself reading in her journal about her travels from Salzburg to Interlaken on a train in June of 2003. Her words were like music.

"The scenery is so beautiful. The mountains - oh, I could look at them all day. We pass through farmland - by churches with bell towers and clouds reaching high above the little towns. The streams running alongside us are vivid blue.  With my faced pressed upon the glass I am reminded of my favorite song:

This is my Father's world, and to my listening ears

all nature sings, and round me rings the music of the spheres.

This is my Father's world; I rest me in the thought

of rocks and trees, of skies and seas; his hand the wonders wrought.

This is my Father's world. O let me n'er forget

that thought the wrong seems oft so strong, God is the ruler yet.

This is my Father's world: why should my heart be sad?

The Lord is King; let the heavens ring! God reigns; let the earth be glad.

This is my Father's world; He shines in all that's fair; 

In the rustling grass I hear him pass; he speaks to me everywhere."

She went on to write." I am sure many people I encounter don't recognize  the world they live in - whether Prague, Munich, or the USA - is their Father's world. Some might not even recognize God as a part of their world. What an amazing privilege to have a God who speaks to me everywhere. I am so thankful for all the ways God communicates goodness, faithfulness,and love to me."  

I remember smiling as I closed her journal, grateful and a little surprised I did not feel sad, but through her words from a trip long ago, I had been given this dose of wonder.

 We are all in need of a dose of the wonder these days. 

The author, Madeleine L'Engle wrote:"When I need a dose of wonder I wait for a clear night and go look for the stars.....in the country the great river of the Milky Way streams across the sky and I know that our planet is a small part of that river of stars....Often the wonder of the stars is enough to return me to God's loving grace."

A dose of wonder, taken daily - as often as needed.