When is the last time you’ve had your breath taken away? When did you last find yourself filled with grateful wonder? Albert Einstein said, “The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead; his eyes are closed.”
Within the book of Psalms, there are numerous poems that express awe and wonder at the majesty of God’s creation, the blessings that God provides, and the saving acts of God. One of my favorites is Psalm 8, where something as apparently insignificant as the night sky leads the psalmist to eulogize: “When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you have established; what are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them. Yet, you have made them a little lower than the angels, and crowned them with glory and honor.”
When is the last time a night sky has taken your breath away? For that matter, how often do the simple blessings of life, the splendor of creation, or the connection with family and friends leave you in awe? We are surrounded by evidences of God’s goodness and grace if we but stop to perceive them. In the beauty of the world around us, in the love shared through special relationships, in the gift of our needs being met, and in hundreds more life experiences we can sense the presence of God.
In other words, if we open up to God’s grace, we will say, “Awe!” Our breath will be taken by the bounty of God’s blessings, our spirits will soar with the magnificence of God’s love, and our souls will be enriched by the depth of God’s mercy. In these experiences we find beauty and joy in life. In these moments of wonder and awe, we are awakened to the goodness of life.
God’s grace surrounds us. God’s blessings are constantly shared with us. God’s love never leaves us. So I invite you to open up, and say “Awe!”
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