"...so let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the AUTHOR and perfector of our faith...."
I've been thinking a lot about the word, "wonder." Maybe it's because I just got back from India and Nepal. with everyone commenting on my photos- I noticed a common theme. Scenario:
Person: "How was your trip?"
Me: "Amazing! India and Nepal were beautiful....!"
Person: "I saw you went to the Taj Mahal! I'm so jealous! It's beautiful! Breathtaking!" Etc etc.
Me: "Well...yes...it was..."
We can point back to when the Taj was first constructed to see just how impressive and intricately it was built. An Indian king built the Taj after his wife died during childbirth. He had precious stones from all over the world engraved in the white marble, and used things like elephants, ramps, and more than 20,000 people to complete this effort, etc.
I could go on and on about the impressive-ness of this wonder of the world because I STILL can't believe I was there to see (and touch) it!
But I'd rather get to the point. After seeing this picture, God hit me.
"Why don't you "jump" over My wonders?"
After all, this is a world wonder. Built by man. Sure, it was built by several men. Several brilliant men. Talented men. Devoted, dedicated, ahead of their time, creative, powerful men! Sure, it's withstood many attempts of ruin, the elements, etc. But still, man made this.
As impressive as the Taj is, (and I think its WAY ok to marvel at it), how much MORE should we be marveling at all that God has made?
A few days later, He'd deliver another punch - and wow me all over again.
That, my friends, is Mount Everest. The highest point in the world. Made not by man. In its magnitude, and height, and beauty! WOW.
I say all of this because I feel like the Lord lit a fire in me to re-evaluate what I think is wonderful. He wants me to recognize the majesties HE has made, and recognize HIS skill, and HIS brilliance, and HIS craftsmanship.
I came home from my trip with a new lens to recognize wonder, and to appreciate the wonders God DID make for me in this life. And I didn't have to look far.
That's my new niece, Kinsley Dawn. Born a few short weeks after I got home from Nepal. And that's her dad - my oldest brother. LOOK at her. Tiny. Precious. And a God-made wonder of my world.
Sure, looking at the Taj Mahal, you begin to think -but here - God asks you to wonder. Your mind itself begins to ponder the magnitude of God and you begin to contemplate, "HOW?" He created a life. A human-being.
Not only the world and everything in it, but He created you and me. So impressively, delicately. With our different skin colors, talents, unique personalities, and He even numbered the hairs on our heads. Not only that, but God has plans for EVERY contigency of your life. Just think! He planned for my brother to meet his wife. He planned their marriage. He planned their love for one another to lead to pregnancy, He planned the miracle of birth into their futures. And then He gave them a little wonder of the world.
Every step with God holds something wonderful. I'd say all we have to do is jump.
-J