Lenten Challenge, Day 7: Wonder

Something happened to me when I had children. My eyes were opened to a world I'd forgotten even existed. Dandelions once again became beautiful flowers, and fireflies became magic in a jar. Snow became a wintry playground instead of a nuisance in which to drive. The world I live in became full of wonder again.

Parenthood consistently makes me stop and rediscover every little wonder that my boys see in everyday life. An ant carrying a leaf, a cloud shaped like a dog, a green pumpkin with a twisty stem. Though I've begun to appreciate how wondrous those little things are, I'm even more overwhelmed by the perfectly wondrous little beings my boys are.

I edited a book for Hallmark when I was pregnant with Bennett titled, You Fill the World With Wonder. One line reads, "I dream new dreams when I see things imagined in your eyes." At the time, I'd get choked up every time I had to read it aloud in a meeting, and though I thought it was mostly pregnancy hormones, I realized later it's because that's one of the gifts we receive when we have children. We get to see the world anew. We get to marvel at creation again...through the eyes of a child.