Now is the time.... To Wonder

Worship the Lord with gladness. Come before him, singing with joy. Acknowledge that the Lord is God! He made us, and we are his. Psalm 100:1-3

I read an article on the internet this morning about a 21 year old woman who lost half her brain in an accident. Her skull was so badly crushed that bone entered her brain and surgeons had no option other than to remove the damaged part; the part that is logical. You can imagine the fear of her mother for her daughter's future. However, this wonderful creation of God that we call our body is so complex and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14), compensated in such a way that she has developed a wonderful talent as an artist.

As I wrote this I remembered seeing a programme about a woman who was a gifted brain scientist who had a stroke. She had an important career and responsible position. One morning she woke and realised she was having a stroke and managed to dial a colleague's number. She couldn't even talk but it raised the alarm and she was hospitalised. She lost all the logical side of her brain but the amazing story was that her character changed. The stoke cost her an amazing career but she also lost her emotional 'baggage' and became quite a different, more amenable character. I seem to remember that she, too, developed her artistic side and was so much richer for it.

So often our logical side hampers our softer creative side, we give it far too much space! We get so caught up in the busyness of our minds, and trying to work things out in our life, that we forget to allow ourselves time to stop and wonder at God's amazing creation both in nature and in humankind. I often find myself filled with praise as I stop and gaze at the wonder of creation in nature and lately I have had reason to stop again and wonder at the amazing talents and creative abilities with which God has gifted people. We can try to empty our minds, sleep, veg out or drown the world out in an attempt to de-stress but the best thing of all is to just stop, drink in the awe-inspiring things of creation, both large and small. To take time to do this is the best de-stresser of all.

If you are weighed down with 'baggage', be it emotional, professional, study, or family, perhaps it is time that you stopped and took time to wonder at the amazing world we have been given, or even the giftedness of the people who enrich our lives in various art forms. See God's handiwork and worship him, it will do you a world of good.

Prayer: Amazing God of all creation, open my eyes to see anew the wonders that surround me, then to take the time to wonder at it all again and worship you. Amen