As we spend time at our camp site there are a lot of things that I wonder about.
I wonder about the fire in the ring and why the flames dance the way that they do. I wonder about the amount of oxygen that is necessary to burn up the 10-20 pounds of firewood in the fire.
I wonder about the creek that runs slowly, but steadily all night and all day long. I wonder about the aquifers in the ground, how they fill up and how they gush forth as springs. I wonder about the fish that we might see swimming in the creek and hiding in the deeper pools. I wonder about the plants that grow in the creek and about the little life forms like water fleas and freshwater shrimp and snails and all of those other wee animals that make those plants their home.
I wonder about the deer and her fawn we see walking close to our camp site. I wonder about the elk we hear bugling at night. I wonder about the coyotes that sing throughout the night. My wife wonders how close to camp those coyotes are.
I wonder about the stars in the sky. How far away they must be. How little they appear even though they must be oh so big. If they are so far away, why do I need my glasses to see them clearly?
But just getting away from home, even for just an evening, gives me a chance to wonder about all these things and more. Things that, perhaps, I take for granted most days. And as I wonder about all these things, my mind can’t help but wonder about greater things, so much so that my mind begins to wonder so clearly about the greatest thing. As the song says, “The wonder of it all, just to think that God loves me!”
“There’s the wonder of sunset at evening,
The wonder as sunrise I see;
But the wonder of wonders that thrills my soul
Is the wonder that God loves me.”
George Beverly Shea, The Wonder of It All
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” John 3:16