LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

There’s an oak near my house that I’m especially fond of. It’s rugged and knobby, as oaks are. One day, I wrapped my arms around its trunk and pressed my cheek against its scratchy bark. I imagined it drawing water and nutrients up from its roots, living in slow, invisible ways. I imagined God’s joy in that moment and felt a surge of affection and thankfulness rise inside me. A nonverbal prayer. I felt silly, but also happy.

God gave us this world to explore, seek to understand, and enjoy. Wonder inspires us to treat the world as a gift. When we learn to view something with wonder, we begin to cherish it and care for it better. Wonder points us outward and upward—an antidote to selfishness and brooding.

For me, common sources of wonder exist in both the micro and macro. I feel a similar response inside when I examine a tiny inchworm moving across a leaf as when I listen to the “sounds” of Saturn and Jupiter, recorded from space. The more I learn and pay attention to the world around me, the more I’m convinced curiosity and wonder are essential practices that cultivate humility, open-mindedness, and gratitude for our Creator.

In this issue, Emily Montesano writes about how C.S. Lewis’s depiction of Aslan’s playful joy expanded her vision of what it means to be reconciled to God. Abby Ciona describes how writing helps her notice and pay attention to her surroundings, and how looking beyond our immediate circumstances helps us place ourselves within a bigger story—God’s story.

In this issue’s feature interview, Josiah Piett talks about pursuing God before our individual callings and how we can avoid allowing our vocations to form the basis of our identities.

In the Flipside, Lisa Hanash writes about a community of artists in Montreal who are learning and growing together. Marina Hofman describes how the story of the midwives in Exodus inspires her to view everyday life through a lens of wonder.