Finding God in Awe & Wonder

Truly, we live with mysteries too marvelous
to be understood.
How grass can be nourishing in the
mouths of the lambs.
How rivers and stones are forever
in allegiance with gravity
while we ourselves dream of rising.
How two hands touch and the bonds will
never be broken.
How people come, from delight or the
scars of damage,
to the comfort of a poem.
Let me keep my distance, always, from those
who think they have the answers.
Let me keep company always with those who say
“Look!” and laugh in astonishment,
and bow their heads.

~ Mary Oliver, "Mystery, Yes"

I always find our scripture lacking when it comes to directly addressing things like awe and wonder. Certainly, it is implied in the extraordinary, magical, miraculous stories in the bible – from Noah’s Ark to Moses parting of the Red Sea; from burning bushes to stilling a storm; from turning water into wine to accepting and welcoming the stranger. From the heavens displaying God’s handiwork, to learning from the animals, birds, plants and fish, from angel visitations to miraculous births. Awe and wonder are everywhere… but nowhere does it spell it out: God is there whenever you experience awe and wonder.

In Mary Oliver’s words, “we live with mysteries too marvelous to be understood.” Every moment we are surrounded by wonders. Even in the worst of moments we can behold something amazing if only we look. And these things can remind us of our deep connection with the Divine.

Theologian and scientist, Ilia Delio, in her book The Hours of the Universe writes this:

Here is the amazing insight that both Francis of Assisi and Teilhard [de Chardin] realized: the power at the heart of matter, of a leaf, for example, is the same power at the heart of my life – it is the power of God. I am drawn to the leaf because I am drawn to the truth of my own life – the leaf is a mirror of my deepest self. The center of the leaf and the center of my life are the same center – God – Omega.

For me to contemplate a leaf, therefore, is not simply to withdraw into myself and think about myself; the leaf is not an incentive to find God. Rather, the leaf is God present to me in all its simplicity and beauty. As I contemplate the leaf, I contemplate the source of my life; as I contemplate my life, I discover new things… The God of the leaf recognizes the God in me. Hence, the more I surrender to the power of my own materiality, my embodied existence in which God dwells, the more I am drawn to God in the leaf and the tree and the clouds and the wind. My body and the body of the world are one, and God is shining through this unfolding unity.

Simply put, I believe she is saying that when we stop thinking that God can only be “out there and up there” and start seeing awe, mystery and wonder in the leaves and rocks, in our fingers and eyes, the more we will recognize that God is in us and God is in everything.  We are connected spiritually through these magical, mystical amazing experiences. We’re not apart from it; we’re part of it.

So many things keep us from living from a place of wonder. It’s easy to be distracted, caught up in our worries and thoughts, oblivious to everything around us. It’s easy to get sucked into the materialism and consumerism that runs rampant in our society and forget about nature and our part in it. It’s easy to let busyness get in the way, and grief shroud everything.

Then what happens when we stop seeing wonder and awe? We end up living in a drab, boring, colorless, dreary world. Even worse, we become disconnected, lonely and empty.

There have been some studies done that conclude that people who experience awe are more likely to be kind and generous. In one study, one group of participants was invited to gaze at North America’s tallest eucalyptus trees, while another group gazed at a tall science building. Not surprisingly, the ones gazing at the trees experienced more awe. Interestingly though, a situation was arranged in which participants from both groups encountered a person who stumbled and dropped a handful of pens on the ground. Those who had looked at the trees were more apt to help the person pick up the pens than those who had gazed at the science building.

As Mary Oliver’s poem said, “Let me keep company always with those who say “Look!” and laugh in astonishment, and bow their heads. Truly, I love being with people who are curious, and excited about life and everything in it.

Victoria Loorz, in her book, Church of the Wild, talks about edge walkers. I think we’re all edge walkers in the Christ tradition. Most of us were formed by the church and the teachings of Jesus, but as we’re learned and grown we recognize that not only has this tradition brought many people joy and sustenance, it has also brought many pain, heartache and suffering. And so we’ve traveled to the edge of the tradition walking the narrow space that includes a bit of tradition and ritual, but seeks the mystical, personal experience of the divine in the world. An experience often reveals itself through awe and wonder.

There have always been edge walkers. Jesus was certainly one. He grew up solidly in the Jewish religion. But as an adult he chafed against the status quo, set laws, and lack of compassion. He pushed the edges of spirituality and talked about the mystical experience of oneness with each other and oneness with the Divine. It is that oneness that we experience when we open ourselves to wonder and awe… those feelings dissolve boundaries, get us out of our heads and egos, and lift us into a higher spiritual consciousness, if only for a moment.

Cultivating spaciousness and awareness within ourselves helps us to see awe and wonder and remember our connection to spirit. How do we awaken every day with an intent to see with radical amazement, to remember how incredible everything is around us?

We talked about picking a word or phrase for the year. If you haven’t done so yet, perhaps we could consider this one: Behold wonder! This phrase can be hauled out anywhere and anytime. Behold wonder! What do I see, feel, hear, experience in this moment that fills me with a sense of awe and wonder? We might be surprised at how much more we’re able to find God with just these simple words.

Love & Light!

Kaye