A 'Wonder-Full' week

My word for 2013 is 'Wonder'.  Below I will share my thoughts on that word and share some of the pictures of 'wonder' from this past week. 

I was drawn to this word for 2013 because of a short quote I read. This quote challenged me to imagine going through life looking for the treasures as I would in an antique shop. When I ‘treasure hunt’ with my girls (like I did for hours on New Years Day 2013) we look high and low for small things that amaze us. These things might be buried on a bottom shelf or covered by other items. They may be covered in dust or cluttered in a corner. At first glance, these items might not even seem like the treasures we are looking for. We seek them out and take them home. Our eyes are constantly open, in wonder.

One of my favorite parenting moments of all times involved an interruption during a drive to school on a beautiful fall morning a few years ago. Sophie shouted out, “WOW”, right in the middle of our prayer. She was struck by the immense beauty of a yellow tree, she couldn’t do anything but exclaim her wonder. My first response was to be discouraged because of the interruption, but that was immediately changed to awe as I realized that the exclamation was probably the most beautiful prayer we could offer at that moment. Her eyes were open, in wonder.

I want to live my life in 2013 in wonder. I want to seek out not only the obvious moments of beauty in my life, but also the ones buried on a bottom shelf or covered by other items. I want to shout out in wonder at the joyful noise my kids make, even when at first glance it seems to be adding chaos to the moment. I want to look closely at each moment and search for the wonder that it holds. I want to rid myself of the stress and anxiety that creep in when it seems like there aren’t any treasures to behold. Stress and anxiety make it even more difficult to find the treasures, and waste energy I could be using to find and enjoy them. I want to shout out “WOW” 1000 more times this year as I record these moments of wonder. I want to keep my eyes constantly open, in wonder.