Spatulas and pencils

A laptop charger. A spatula. A pencil. What do these things have in common?

They capture my 8-month old's attention for hours.

Ever since our son figured out how to army crawl, he has been exploring everything. At the beginning he would crawl toward something new, look at for a minute and then move on to the next new thing. He loved to explore.

Now he is in the investigative stage. He'll grab a spatula or a spoon and stare at it intently, turn it over, put it in his mouth and try to figure out how it works. As a mom I find it funny how enthralled he is with such simple things.

Children have such an amazing sense of wonder. They are always asking seemingly trivial questions: "Why is there glass in the window?", "Why is the sun yellow and not purple?", "How did that get there?"

We might get annoyed with the questions, but wondering is how children learn. They wonder about everything and wonder in everything. They take time to notice the world around them and then take the time investigate and learn.

I am amazed with the small details my son notices, and what he wants to explore (such as a piece of carpet fluff or an escaped cheerio). He notices the small things, and I've thought how different my life would be if I took a page out of his book and noticed more details in the world around me.

God has created such a beautiful world for us to live in, and we should take the time to wonder in awe at His glory and power. He created this beautiful world so we could see a small daffodil or the deep green of a towering evergreen and remember Him.

We often get busy as adults and forget our childhood sense of wonder. Sometimes it might seem painful to unplug from technology, social media, work, or whatever it is in order to take time to wonder. But imagine how much you could learn if you took even 5 minutes everyday to wonder about something.

Do something today to rediscover your sense of wonder. Go on an adventure. Climb a mountain. Sit outside and do nothing but enjoy the sun. Put away technology and just listen. Paint a picture. Dance in the rain. Foster a sense of wonder in others and do it yourself.

I wonder...