Three things are too wonderful for me;
four I do not understand:
the way of an eagle in the sky,
the way of a snake on a rock,
the way of a ship on the high seas,
and the way of a man with a maiden.
Proverbs 30:18-19
“What did you notice today?” That is the question that theologian Douglas Christie likes to ask his daughter. Rather than asking, “What did you do today?” he much prefers to talk about what she stopped to see and to notice during her day. Christie says that by asking that simple question, he even finds himself stopping to see and to notice.
We see in today’s scripture the wise man of Proverbs doing a lot of noticing. At the end of the Book of Proverbs’ long tribute to wisdom, the wise person stops to notice the wonder of life around him. He sees an eagle soaring in the sky, a serpent gliding across a rock, a ship plowing choppy waters, the mysterious love of a man and a woman, and declares it all, “too wonderful for me.” He is overcome by what he stops to notice!
Scottish essayist Thomas Carlyle noted, “Wonder is the basis of worship.” He knew that genuine worship springs from the wonder that we call God and His creative ways in the world. Worship happens when we let ourselves be astonished by God, by His creation, and by Amazing Grace.
But sometimes I let myself get caught up in the fast-pace of life and do not stop to notice, to pay attention to God or His world around us. I do not stop to notice an awe-full sunrise, the charm of a sunflower, or Fall following fast after Summer. I need fresh eyes!
Jewish philosopher Abraham Heschel like to talk about the human need for “radical amazement.” All of life is so amazing! When asked by a reporter what he thought his greatest gift, Heschel said, “My ability to be surprised.”
How about you? Do you let yourself be surprised? Do you let yourself stop to notice what the wise man of Proverbs describes as, “too wonderful for me”? G. K. Chesterton was right: “The world will never starve for want of wonders, but for want of wonder.”
What are you stopping to notice today?
A fellow traveler,
Tim
