Seth Godin, famous author, leader, and entrepreneur wrote early in January about what it means to “wonder.”
He writes, Wondering about your past, about what might have happened, about bad decisions made and roads not taken… this is a recipe for not much more than regret.
But wondering about your future?
When we wonder about the future, we get a chance to begin again, to set new goals and envision bold plans.
No more chances to do yesterday over, sorry. But infinite chances for tomorrow.
If you could do tomorrow over again, would you?”
There is a difference between worry and wonder.
First, we must never discount the power of living in the now. Not in the past and also not in the future, embracing where we are, who we are with, and the situations we are immersed in “now.” Far too often life passes us by because we are living in the past or worrying about the future.
We live in the past thinking “those were the best of times” and that joy/happiness cannot be found in the current now. We “remember when” things were “better” and we allow that remembering to capture us and hold us captive, keeping us from living in the now.
Or – we look ahead at the future as only a thing of uncertainty. We don’t embrace the joy of the unknown, we instead have anxiety about what is yet to be discovered.
If we remember that God is a generous God, then that changes everything for us. We can begin to embrace that it is God that provides for us all that we need. No, it isn’t like “magic” and poof – things just fall from the sky like Cloudy, With a Chance of Meatballs. However, we will find that when we live as recipients of God’s generosity and then live as generous people, we will have all that we need. We will feel free to not be anxious about the days ahead, but instead live in a state of wonder.
Matthew 6:25-34 [Full Chapter]
“If you decide for God, living a life of God-worship, it follows that you don’t fuss about what’s on the table at mealtimes or whether the clothes in your closet are in fashion. There is far more to your life than the food you put in your stomach, more to your outer appearance than the clothes you hang on your body. Look at the birds, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, careless in the care of God. And you count far more to him than birds. “Has anyone by fussing in front of the mirror ever gotten taller by so much as an inch? All this time and money wasted on fashion—doyou think it makes that much difference? Instead of looking at the fashions, walk out into the fields and look at the wildflowers. They never primp or shop, but have you ever seen color and design quite like it? The ten best-dressed men and women in the country look shabby alongside them. …