3 Ways to Rediscover The Wonder

Do you remember what it was like to walk into a hotel as a child?

Everything that you saw filled you with wonder, this child-like wonder is something we have been chasing after ever since we grew up. The bed was as big as an ocean that was just screaming to be jumped on. You could not believe they made fridges so small, what could you possibly fit into it.

Do not even get me started on the elevator, this was a magic rocket ship that was going to fly away!

I wish this was the same experience that I had walking into a hotel now, but it is not.

That is a child’s perspective.

We as adults walk into a hotel, thinking about how to protect our kids from the germs found around every corner. We walk into the room and think, do not touch the top cover of the bed because you do not know if they have ever wash them. You do your check under the covers for bed bugs, and you have disinfectant wipes in each hand to sanitize the whole room.

This is not child-like wonder, no this probably represents more of a doomsday prepper stance.

Where did we lose our wonder?

As adults, we have too much information available to us. We know what happens if we get bed bugs and bring them home. We assume the likelihood that the last person to use the tv remote in the room probably didn't wash their hands.

Adults live in a world that has parameters.

There are rules to the way things are supposed to be. We have become cynical to the world around us, and we relate to it in a way that is defensive and apprehensive.

So, what do we do to recapture the wonder of a child?

How do we see a box for something more than a box? How do we see a shiny red spaceship that is going to take us to the moon?

1. Be Unprotective.

A child is not worried about what is lurking around the corner.

They have not built up walls as a means of protection. Children are vulnerable enough to get hurt, either physically or emotionally. They do not enter a hotel room with anxious thoughts of ways to protect themselves. When they enter the room, they are looking for all of the possibilities, everything that could be. They are able to find joy in what they are doing. God wanted us to find the joy all around us.

David writes:

I come to your altar, O Lord, singing a song of Thanksgiving and telling of all your wonders. (Psalm 26.7)

So, enjoy the little parts of life where we can find joy because in the celebration of life is where we find the wonder.

2. Be Unjudgmental

Do you remember what it was like not to be embarrassed?

Kids are like that, they do things without worrying about what other people will think of them. They can dance uncontrollably in the middle of a store and not think twice about it. I remember when I was a kid dancing in the middle of the grocery store when I heard a song. I did not think about who I was with or what people would think; I just danced because it brought me joy.

Judgment comes with age. Over time we have baggage that we all carry. That baggage has come from:

Years of pain

Years of letdown

Years of unmet expectations.

Paul tells us that we are all sinners and fall short of the standard that God has set before us. (Romans 3.23) If we are looking for wonder in people, then it will fall short every single time. We find the wonder when we don't worry about judgments that may come but focus on the joy that is around us.

3. Be Unafraid

I have a three-year-old that is full of wonder, and one of the reasons is because he is unafraid of living life. He will go full speed at whatever he is doing, running, jumping, hopping, you name it. He is going a mile a minute. But he has no fear, at least not yet, he has no reason to fear. Fear is something that has been taught to us over time and slowly creeps in. People wanted to protect us, but I fear it did more harm.

Before we know it, our lives revolve around the fear of the unknown. But the child-like wonder does not look like that, it does not fear the unknown. No, it is unafraid in the face of the unknown and jumps right into it.

We have to be willing to:

Fall…..

Fail…..

Lose…..

Because if we are willing to do those, then we can begin to:

…..Win

…..Succeed

…..Grow

The wonder has never left us, we have just forgotten.

Rediscovering wonder is about relating to this world the way that a child relates to it. It is their language to the world; how it is perceived through their brains. The ordinary small things have significant value in their life.

We have forgotten how to play in our lives.

Activity has taken the place of adventure.

Just as a child develops through play, we as adults also grow the same way. So, leave room in your life for the adventure of the unknown. Takedown the parameters that have been taught to you and begin to reclaim that wonder in your life.

Now it may seem more than ever, we need to relate to the world with more wonder than worry.