by Christine Sine
On Friday, I walked around our local reservoir park with its impressive view of Mt Rainier for the first time since the COVID pandemic began. Wow, Wow, Wow, was all that I could think as I drank in the beauty of this magnificent mountain. One of my fellow walkers commented: “I have lived here for 30 years and the wow factor never fades.” Amen to that I thought. I, too, have lived in Seattle for 30 years and the wow factor is a vibrant now as it was when I had my first inspiring view of our mountain.
Asiatic lilly
Refreshed by this awe experience I ambled home reflecting on what else I could think of where the wow factor never fades. I walked around my garden photographing my lilies and roses and even some of the pesky invasive plants whose flowers are incredibly beautiful.
Invasive alomestria lilly
I chuckled to myself because I photograph these same flowers every year. The wow factor really doesn’t fade! And throughout my tour, there was the soothing melody of bird songs and the buzzing of bees. The awe factor of these never fades either. Then I came inside and turned on my desktop fountain – the sound of water cascading is another wow factor that never fades either.
Bee on Lavender
“Where else does the wow factor never fade for me?”
As I sat at my desk that morning that was the question that kept revolving in my mind. I grabbed my Bible Gateway app and looked up Psalm 65, my favourite awe and wonder psalm which graphically shows where David was constantly wowed by God’s creation too. I suspect the enduring wow factor of this inspiration kept him going through some of the tough times of his life.
My favourite verse is Ps 65:8:
O God, to the farthest corners of the planet
people will stand in awe,
startled and stunned by your signs and wonders.
Sunrise brilliance and sunset beauty
both take turns singing their songs of joy to you. (TPT Ps 65:8)
What a wonderful energizing start to the day this reflection gave me and throughout the day, I found myself thinking, “Where else does the wow factor never fade?”. The aroma of fresh-brewed coffee, the taste of berries straight out of the garden, the warmth of the sun on my back, the delight of a friend’s welcoming smile. The list goes on and on, and to be honest, it has taken me twice as long as usual to write this post because I kept getting distracted by something else that caught my attention for which the wow factor never fades.
Sadly, I also realized how rarely I ask myself this question. It is easy for all of us to go through the day without taking notice of the things with an enduring wow factor. After all it does tend to mean that everything takes twice as long to accomplish when we stop to take notice of the wow factor, the awe and wonder factor, of everything around us. But it is worth it. I have been devastated by some very bad news from a good friend this week and it can easily pull me down and distance me from God; focusing on the wow factor changes that. It doesn’t make the bad news go away, and it doesn’t mean that I disconnect from the impact of it but it does make it easier for me to cope and stay close to God and walk through the day with a spring in my step in the midst of challenging circumstances.
What about for you? Where does the wow factor never fade? I hope that you will take time to reflect on this today too. Maybe you will come up with a response like this prayer that bubbled up within me, or some other form of creative expression.
When the wind blows through the trees,
And the flowers bloom in the spring,
When the birds sing in the air,
God is present here.
When the sun awakens the day,
Ands the moon glows in the night,
When the stars shine as a million dots of light,
God is present here.
When I see only beauty in God’s world,
And dance in delight and rejoice,
When the trees clap their hands and shout for joy,
God is present here.
When my path twists and turns,
And mist shrouds the way,
When dark clouds gather with foreboding,
God is present here.
On right and on left,
Behind me and before me,
Always leading, always following,
In each step I take,
God is present here.
(© Christine Sine June 2021).
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1 comment
This comment was sent to me by Herbert Orr one of our regular readers:
Wow # 1 When I saw Mt Ranier with snow I remembered from September to
perhaps the next April as I opened the front door going to work I saw
Mt Blanca with snow to the east in South Colorado. Perhaps 40 miles
away.
WOW #2. I put a pot of green leaves with no blooms thinking that such green
would fit with the other bloomed pots near my mail box. I was not
familiar with it. This AM it is covered with 1/3rd inch pretty red blooms.
WOW #3 a. I had cut down the stems of my pink lantana plant and later without
new stems I thought that I killed it. But it has come to life with blooms
on every stem. (I wondered what the google search would show them
and was amazed that 10 pictures of them with the largest the same
color as mine!)
b. For the first time ever with the plant put in 5 yrs ago or more there are
black seed pods the size bigger but the shape of a raspberry fruit, are
all over it.
So, thanks again for your putting familiar nature things with worshiping God!