When was the last time you woke up brimming with wonder and anticipation about your day ahead?
I pondered this question after chatting with my cousin the night before her family vacation to Disney World. As she packed suitcases during our call, her boys chatted incessantly in the background about their upcoming trip, their voices giddy and oozing with joy as they fired off multiple questions: When are we leaving? How long will it take to get there? Is it almost time for our flight?
Their jubilation and laughter prompted a sidebar conversation about discovering joy in the everyday moments and intentionally carving out time to bring more awe into our lives. As a child, I relished the simple things without effort—reading The Baby-Sitters Club series on our brown swing on the front porch, riding bikes around the neighborhood, weekend trips to the mall that ended with a treat, family game night playing candy bingo, Blockbuster nights, playing games on our computer, going to my grandmother’s house. Every day whispered the promise of adventure, a quiet awe waiting to unfold. Something exciting. Something new. Something fun.
Children often approach life with fearlessness, curiosity, and awe. They don’t need to know the details to believe that something magical will happen. When my cousin told her boys they were spending their spring break in Orlando, they never doubted reaching their destination. They were just excited about the journey, fully believing their parents would get them there.
As we navigate adulthood, the art of wonder can get lost in the shuffle, especially when life happens. We juggle busy schedules and wear multiple hats that demand our full attention. We become bogged down and burnt out from the day-to-day, overwhelmed with never-ending to-do lists and underwhelmed with mundane routines. We’re fighting to maintain our faith and keep our eyes on the prize when the unexpected happens and circumstances change without our permission. Living a life of awe and wonder can seem out of reach when you’re just trying to make it to the end of the week. Sometimes, the day.
During a painful and hard chapter in my life, I challenged myself to identify three things that brought me joy throughout the week. I wrote them down on a piece of paper every Sunday night and tossed the paper into a glass jar. It’s a ritual I still maintain years later. My glass jar brims with documented blessings and testimonies of God’s goodness and faithfulness when December 31st rolls around. This activity has helped me to see the good happening in my life at all times—on the mountaintop and in the valley. It helps me to cultivate gratitude so that I don’t miss the wonder happening around me.
It’s easier for me to anticipate and look forward to major events in my life—vacations, birthdays, milestones—instead of taking time to savor life’s simple pleasures. I’ve learned that creating an awe-filled life is my responsibility. Lately, I’ve been more intentional about building positive anticipation and discovering wonder in everyday moments, creating excitement around small things instead of waiting for the next big event to happen.
Sometimes that looks like:
Reading a book at the park
Lighting a scented candle
Checking out a new bakery or coffee shop after church
Pulling out my vinyl records to play my favorite jazz albums
Steeping a cup of herbal tea before bed or brewing a fresh cup of coffee in the a.m.
Journaling in a beautiful notebook
Choosing the scenic route for a walk/run
Concocting a new recipe
Listening to the Abide meditation/prayer app
Creating a tasty snack plate for movie night
Browsing through a magazine for inspiration
There’s a sense of satisfaction when my teapot whistles on the stovetop at the end of a long day. It’s my cue to wind down for the night and engage in self-care, whether it’s reading, writing, relaxing to jazz tunes, or catching up on a TV series. Cultivating greater awe and incorporating wonder into our lives requires more effort during certain seasons, but it’s not impossible. God graciously grants us small and big wonders every day. We just have to lean in to discover the extraordinary in the ordinary and embrace the awe all around us.
How can you add more awe into your life this week?
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