“Wow!”, not “so what?”

Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. John 1:3

But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish in the sea inform you. Which of all these does not know that the hand of the LORD has done this? In his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind. Job 12:7-10

Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let the sea resound, and all that is in it. Let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them; let all the trees of the forest sing for joy. Psalm 96:11-12

Listen to this, Job; stop and consider God’s wonders. Do you know how God controls the clouds and makes his lightning flash?  Do you know how the clouds hang poised, those wonders of him who has perfect knowledge? Job 37:14-16

There is a quote from the movie The Color Purple that I’ll paraphrase here: “I think it angers God if you walk by the color purple in a field somewhere and don’t notice it.” (This movie was originally a book, and to read the whole unedited quote, go online.) I love this quote, because I imagine it to be true! God has created a beautiful world for us, and sometimes we take it for granted.

When I was a child, I had a book that showed a photograph of a fetus in the amniotic sac at around 4 months gestation. Today, we can go to our computers and search online for photographs like this and find hundreds. In the late 60s-early 70s, this was somewhat of a novelty. I had this book along once while visiting my grandmother in the hospital. My brothers and I spent many long hours in the waiting room back when children were not allowed in the patient rooms, so we spent that time reading and running around the hospital grounds. On one such day I was reading the above-mentioned book, and commented to my brother on how amazing the photo was. Another young girl in the waiting area noticed, took a cursory glance at the photo, and dismissed it, saying "So what?" As a child I was so shocked at her response that I couldn’t say a word. Shame followed; shame that I was in awe of something that was evidently mundane to others.

Today I think just the opposite: how sad that there are people in this world who don’t notice the details and beauty of the world we live in. Miracles abound! I’m going to try my best to keep a childlike wonder at my surroundings…whether it’s the way the fading sunlight shines on the fall leaves or the delicate little bird landing on my windowsill, or the miraculous human body…I want to appreciate it.  

It’s sometimes easy to become absorbed in our own dramas and issues when things aren’t going well; we have a harder time noticing life around us. During those times we need to be reminded that gratitude goes hand-in-hand with an observant nature.

Don’t be a “so what?” person; be a “wow!” person!

Prayer: Dear Lord, thank you for the beautiful world you have created. Help us notice it, and in doing so, give the glory to you! Amen.

Donna Gustafson