Imagination, Amazement, and Wonder

When I was a kid, my sister and I would lay on the ground in the front yard of our country home and use our imaginations to create images out of the clouds (I realize fully that many in today’s up-and-coming generation of technology-crazed kids and teens may not see any purpose in doing that when you can gaze at a perfectly clear picture of the sky on any variety of screens at any time of the day or night, but for those of us that grew up in a day and age when an individual’s imagination was the only piece of technology readily accessible,this recollection should invoke a moment of nostalgia.)  I’m not quite sure how we managed to avoid being snacks for fire ants or energy drinks for mosquitoes, but somehow we survived.  Recently, when a friend of mine sent me what I deem a really cool picture of a cloud in the sky via text message (I know – I’m such a hypocrite!) I was brought back to a simpler time when cool things like that actually got noticed and brought about a sense of amazement and wonder. What follows is just a quick, bullet-point list of random cool moments that my aging mind can dig up.

• Several years ago, my daughter had a friend (a city girl) spend the night on a school night. The next morning on the school bus (Yes – my kids take advantage of the public transportation to school) this friend of my daughter’s saw the sun rise with all it’s brilliance for what she said was the first time in her life…unthinkable for an early-rising country guy like myself, but her description of the event was filled with wonder and amazement.
• Around about 2010, my then-small youngest son was still full of questions. On the way to my Granny’s house for Christmas Eve, there was a really cool (or dangerous, depending on your perspective) lightning storm transpiring. Out of the blue, he asked if anyone in our family had ever been struck by lightning. The answer to his random question was, “I don’t think so.” His response was, “Well…Uncle Carl LOOKS like he’s been struck by lightning!” Amazed by the electric bolts, his imagination was stimulated!
• The second year of my teaching career, I had a student that was struggling to complete an assignment for Creative Writing. With a few questions and a look out of the window at the Sweet Gum tree that was just turning green after a long, cold winter, his mind was stimulated into an adventure that ended up earning him recognition from the CEO of the candy company that makes Mike and Ike candies. A little inspiration from the natural world and an honor that is held in memoriam in my classroom down to the present day was inspired and earned.
• Bummed out over a less-than-productive deer hunt several years ago, the old Chevy was loaded up and turning down the long driveway of our hunting camp when in the eastern sky, the illumination of the soon-to-rise sun broke through the doldrums of my pity party. Downheartedness turned to thankfulness as I realized just how blessed I was to be able to experience all the moments in God’s creation that I had over the last four and a half days. Even without a supply of venison in the cooler, I headed South with, you guessed it, Amazement and Wonder.

I am convinced that the Great God that spoke our little green planet into existence sometime in the past is still very actively using His creation to speak to human beings. After all, it is through creation that we humans are “without excuse” when it comes to knowing that there is indeed a God that caused all of this to be (Romans 1:20). I don’t claim to know all the messages that God has or can communicate to us through His created universe, but I do know that these few examples shared and the many more that we could think of are evidence that our Creator desires to have an audience with us – even if it is only to stimulate our imagination or to give us a snapshot of something to bring about amazement and wonder.

I am uncertain of just how many people read this little blog. Perhaps there are some that began reading but never made it this far, so if you’re still reading, congratulations, I have a challenge for you. Here it is: Sometime before you lay your head on the pillow tonight, spend some time looking at this natural world – preferably the real thing and not a collection of pixels on a screen arranged to appear as though they are the natural world – and allow the God that created it to speak to you…remind you…amaze you…etc. And when He does, offer a comment explaining what you saw and what God communicated to you through it. I think it’ll be fun! Now, whether laying on the grass making pictures of the clouds or staring into the depth of the star-lit sky, somewhere out there, I’ll see you in the Great Outdoors!