Rediscovering Wonder by Andy FreemanAndy Freeman - 8 Jan 2007
There was one story that G.K. Chesterton wanted to write but never properly did. In his landmark book, ‘Orthodoxy’ he shares how he had always wanted to write a tale about an explorer. His idea was of a man who sailed away from England, on a great adventure to find new lands. When he reaches new shores, he steps bravely onto what he thinks is an undiscovered kingdom; only to discover that he has merely sailed back to England. He plants a flag in what he thinks is paradise …. only later to discover it is, in fact, Brighton.
At first hearing, we think the explorer is stupid. But as Chesterton explored the idea, he realized it was an allegory for something much deeper. Was it really so bad that he went out on a dangerous quest, yet discovered something known and comfortable? After all, ‘what could be more glorious than to brace oneself to discover New South Wales, and then realize, with a gush of happy tears, that it was really old South Wales.’
At it’s heart was a simple idea: our familiarity with our lives, our surroundings and often with our God. ‘How can we contrive to be at once astonished at the world and yet at home within it?’
I’ve just finished a slow month. It’s hard to consider it a month off as I have a busy family life that I can’t simply disappear from, nor would I want to. But what I could drop was my work, so I did. It’s been fun, it’s also been hard, and as is normal God has decided to teach me a little whilst I’ve been about it.
Most striking was my discovery of how familiar with my life I had become. The shroud of “busy-ness”, most of which had honest intentions, hid some things in my life. In working hard to serve my God, I had instead managed to miss him whilst getting everything organized. Like Martha in the story of the meal in Luke 10:38-42, I had learnt to be ‘fussing far too much’ about my work, but had neglected the true duty of sitting before the Master ‘hanging on his every word’.
Wonder is a word we hear a lot about around Christmastime, but not a lot about for the rest of the year. Wonder can be encapsulated in words like “surprise”, “awe”, “speechless”, “fear” and “amazement”. In terms of God it is about the moment when we stand before Him and realize there is so much more to our God than we can ever grasp. It is a deep form of praise.
Plato concluded that all philosophy begins and ends with wonder. Wonder is what the shepherds and kings had in common when they witnessed the Nativity. Wonder was the only valid reaction to the Resurrection of Christ. Wonder is what we do when we realize God is God and we can neither box Him in or slap Him in some slick package. Wonder is what I had lost.
At the ILG in London last September I was grabbed by a Swedish guy who said he needed to pray for me. Unwillingly, I accepted. He prayed about Sabbath, about rest and peace in my life. At first all I could consider was the jobs that needed doing. But slowly as I relented I heard God speak. I needed Sabbath in my life, a regular rhythm of rest. As I went home that night I concluded that first I needed to completely stop. I needed to re-boot my life.
So in December I attempted Sabbath. Sabbath is from the Hebrew word ‘Shabbat’ and it simply means stop, take a break. It is what God did when he finished making the world. He looked around, took it in, and considered it good.
In neglecting rest I had forgotten how to stop, how to take a break, and how to consider how good God is. I had lost the joy of seeing the countryside. I had forgotten how to appreciate the depth in people. I had grown weary of music, art and poetry. I had lost a rhythm of prayer and bible study. Most of all I had forgotten how to stop. And I am still struggling.
When I stop, I feel this urge to fill my time with stuff, jobs and things to do. But once a week I know God wants me to stop, to take a break, to ‘Shabbat’ and to gaze in wonder at who He is and the beauty of all He has made. One of my prayers for 2007 is that that rhythm of stopping will become more of a part of my life.
