Wonder With Them

 By: Lauren Thomas 

“We’re in the slow lane,” I heard Gigi say contentedly. We were sitting down to eat at a hole-in-the-wall, Thai restaurant. It was a big party: my family of 5, our best friends’ family of 6, and their parents – affectionately known as Gigi and Papa. Between us, there were 7 children ranging in age from a few months old to 8 years old. Getting all of us seated was a challenge, to say the least. I was overstimulated and feeling way too tightly wound.

 

But when I heard her words, I melted inside.

 

It was okay that this was hard, that this was taking time. She gave permission and validation for that. She normalized it. And I could finally relax. No amount of rushing or stressing would speed things up. No amount of effort would get things on my timeline. Kids are just slow: slow with busyness. They’re busy taking everything in. They’re busy learning. They’re busy being amazed by everything around them. So why not just slow down too? Why not stop trying to drive fast behind them?

 

Her words echoed something I had recently felt in my spirit: “Wonder with them.” 

 

Kids are full of wonder. The smallest things can cause “wonder eruptions”: “Look mommy, a rainbow on the wall!” “Look mommy, a truck!” “Look mommy, a cat [even when it’s the same cat you’ve seen outside every day for 2 years]!” 

 

I admit, these things often felt more like “wonder interruptions,” slowing me down; rather than “wonder eruptions,” little explosions of wonder.

 

But that week, I kept hearing the Lord speak: “wonder with them.” 

 

Why did it matter?

 

1. When God says something, it matters.
2. “Wondering with them” fosters connection between parent/child and increases emotional/relational security for the child.
3. “Wondering with them” slows me down (the opposite of frustration, frazzle, and rush! – all words that describe me too often).
4. “Wondering with them” encourages the kind of childlikeness that Jesus praised in Matthew 18:2-4. Here, the lowly humility of a child is the way to receive the Kingdom. 

 

So, I will wonder with them. And in so doing, I will humble myself. I will open myself to wonder. And I will let myself be in awe of God. I will wonder with them and wonder AT HIM!

 

And amazement seized them all, and they glorified God and were filled with awe, saying, “We have seen extraordinary things today.”

Luke 5:26 ESV

 

“Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods?
    Who is like you, majestic in holiness,
    awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders?

Exodus 15:11 ESV

 

Reflection:

When was the last time you experienced wonder? What caused your wonder?

What is one way you can be in awe of God today?