‘Look Mum, look!’ cried Miss 4 animatedly, ‘there’s baby snails in the tulip!’
I rolled my eyes skyward and made a mental note to spray the garden for slugs and snails. In the meantime Miss 4 had been joined by Miss 2 and they oohed and ahhed over the ‘cute’ baby snails, campaigning to have them as pets.
Later I began to reflect on the concept of wonder. Wonder, along with partner awe, as you may recall, is one of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit we receive at Confirmation.
Children get wonder. I mean, they really get it. During the early days of spring my children raced out every morning to see what new tulips had opened and what colour they were. Then, as spring continued and our garden burst forth with colour they ran from bush to bulb and bulb to bush pointing out the different colours, marvelling at each flower. They picked handfuls of flowers, trying to get a cross-section of all plants, but steering clear of the roses after painful experiences with thorns that are still fresh in their memories.
Me, I was appreciating reward for effort in gardening, although I have to admit I was more than elated when my roses, some of which had been diseased in winter so I had pruned them heavily, began to bud abundantly and I continually fill vases of these gorgeous flowers. And whilst I was happy, I was not in wonder or awe.
But the kids were. In fact, they were in raptures.
And how often do we brush off their wonder because we’re busy or in a hurry? How often do our children want to share something with us that they find amazing and we respond with little more than a bored voice saying, ‘yes dear, that’s a snail’s shell.’
It seems to me that in the process of growing up, we neglected to grow in wonder and awe. We’ve seen hundreds of sunsets, beautiful flowers and snails shells some even with snails still inside, and we take it for granted.
Spiritually we need to encourage our children, and more so ourselves, to wonder more. A lack of wonder, sadly, results in complacency.
I have visited Rome a couple of times in my life where, around every corner, there is a shrine, a Church, a relic or an incorrupt body. I remember thinking how could you live in such a city full of evidence of divine beauty and not be profoundly influenced by it. Well, sadly, it happens. Italian rates of Mass attendance are similar to ours and as a country they have tried to remove God from their constitution. They have grown complacent and cold to the wonders around them.
How many of us have been complacent in our prayer life at some point in time? How many times have we taken Catholicism, and God for that matter, for granted? Admit it, we’ve all done it, though we’re not proud of it.
In truth we should be in wonder and awe of a God who has created the world as we know it. Each of us as well as the environment has been made by His design. And despite all of our sins and transgressions, He would choose to send His son to save us and to be present with us in the Eucharist. This is amazing, mind-blowing theology and yet, we take it all for granted. We don’t appreciate this as we should.
So what can we do to encourage wonder? Here are a few suggestions:
- Try to see the world from a child’s perspective. Try to appreciate and empathise with them over finding a spider and her web hanging between the standard roses in your garden. React with excitement to their discoveries and encourage them to share it with others, including with the family at a meal time.
- Slow down the pace of life. When you’re scurrying to here, there and everywhere, you miss a lot. You might see a lot of things, but you don’t observe them. Walk slower, embrace a child’s pace and take the time to notice the environment around you.
- Turn off technology. Yes, that floral arrangement on Pinterest is lovely, but when was the last time you picked a posy of flowers yourself, walked through botanical gardens, visited a farm, and just soaked up the beauty of nature?
- Become like a child. Jesus encourages us to become more like children, to be childlike, and I think wonder is one of the attributes of children that we adults need to foster more in ourselves. If we want our children to wonder over God, then we should be leading by example.
Originally posted 2015-01-12 22:11:02.