Wow. Tonight I'm exhausted. Today we hosted a photographic art show for my friend Tara, who is an AMAZING photographer. She has spent the last two years involved in various short-term mission opportunities (literally) all over the world and in about a month, Lord willing, she will be leaving long-term, to help plant a church and work with a young ministry in the south of Spain. Tara's joyful and exuberant personality and her gorgeous artwork filled our home today and it was so fun! Today convinced me that I'd like my home to be a full-time art gallery. Wouldn't that be wonderful - to always be surrounded by so much beauty? Hmmm, I'll have to try to come up with a way to make that happen.
Anyway, that was today. Here's today's Reverb10 prompt: Wonder. How did you cultivate a sense of wonder in your life this year?
I would never expect being part of a community group (small group Bible study) to cultivate a sense of wonder in my life, but this year mine certainly has. I have to confess that since I have been active in church my entire life, there are certain church-related commitments that can feel so routine that they are attended largely out of obligation. Community group used to be like that for me.
A wonderful thing about our group is its composition. About half of the members in our group grew up with a pretty solid spiritual foundation and have been, for the most part, pursuing the Lord with their lives for a couple of decades. The other half of our group has just begun to take their journey of faith seriously in the last few years (or months, in some cases). It is this half of the group that has opened my eyes anew to the wonder of who God is. I have never before had the opportunity to witness such honest and transparent life-change as I have been privileged to this year. It is so beautiful to watch God seek, call, and breathe life into his chosen ones. Now, just to clarify, it isn't like anyone in our group was out dealing drugs a year ago and is suddenly walking the streets and passing out tracts instead. The changes are much more subtle and gradual, but they are so vivid and real. It kind of makes me feel like my mind will explode when I start thinking about God's plan for the future of these lives, my life, and how incredible it is to be given a new heart by God. I'm so grateful that He has given me the opportunity to see Him at work in so many people this year, and I pray that in 2011 He will continue to open my eyes to the miracles He is weaving all around me.
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