For some bizarre reason, I was thinking about senses. Realizing (and lamenting) how much we take them for granted, when they were invented to stir our hearts and minds to worship and wonder. Oh, the feeling of a gentle breeze kissing the skin, or the tenderness of a loved one’s hand on our arm. The smell of pine needles and honeysuckle, or a lavish bar of Lavender soap. The taste of Bacon-wrapped Venison loins and Brussels Sprouts, or a bowl of rich, delicious ice cream, or a decadent cheesecake slice. Oh, the glories! The sounds of children’s laughter, or even just their sweet voices, or the sight of their pudgy cheeks and curious eyes.

All of these wonders ought to fill me with wonder. Yet most of the time I am unaware. I am so trapped up in my mind, and all the stuff I think I have to be thinking about, worrying about, tending to… that I lose that sense of wonder and awe that all these sense were created to invoke. It is though our mind steps in the way of our heart and shoves it to the side… when both mind and heart are vital organs. Sometimes I think we aren’t supposed to analyze, but rather stand in awe. Life is so much fuller when it’s full of pauses!

Yesterday evening I called my Grandpa. He just turned 89 years old, and has 89 years worth of stories and wisdom to share. He talked a lot about how he used to love to hike in the woods, and go backpacking. I believe he is one of the reasons I love hiking… because when I was about 10 years old, he took me and my little brother deep into the wilds of California, to a place past the tree line, where you pitched tents on giant boulders made of granite, and watched the sunset cast shadows on rugged mountains of grey and white with glinting sparkles. Ever since I have been captivated by nature.

He told us of his old hiking buddy, and how he used to notice the smallest things. Once, my Grandpa was hiking next to him, when his buddy suddenly yelled “Stop!” Thinking he had seen a rattlesnake or something of the sort, my grandpa began looking around for the danger. Instead, his friend pointed out the tiniest flower, so delicate, petite, impeccably designed. They had to nearly lay on the ground to admire it. “You almost stepped on it” his friend told him. His buddy would often see things like that and say, “You know, God didn’t have to do that. He did it just for our pleasure!”

And this is just it, isn’t it? God invented all of this sensory bliss around us. Taste. Smell. Touch. Sight. Hearing. He didn’t have to do that. But He did. And He did it for our pleasure! It ought to stir up all our affections for the One who spun galaxies and spoke amoebas into existence. The One who hung stars like ornaments in the sky. The One who made dimples and freckles and curly hair. Who made an orchestra of different kinds of music, and bodies to feel rhythm in the bones and move like a musical instrument pounding out every syllable through the pads of our feet. He made majesty in the mundane! And it ought to stir us to wonder and worship. Because behind every great invention is an Inventor… and in this case, He invented the entire universe to proclaim His glory, and to fill us with awe and delight!

Space 2/20/21