The Little Things: Understanding the greatest sense of Wonder
By KELLY PRESTON, Special to The Paper
Eight years ago last month, we brought our 2 1/2-year-old daughter home from China. Was it a hard process? Definitely. Was it worth it? Absolutely! And that’s often the case in life. The things that are hard are, in the end, worth the blood, sweat and tears.
Don’t you think that is what Mary was thinking as she looked down on baby Jesus? That first Christmas was full of WONDER, but it only came after a lot of hardship.
As I look at this picture of our young daughter on her first Christmas, opening small items from her stocking, the look of WONDER is written all over her face. She was overcome with the joy of opening gifts for the very first time.
However, this sweet girl went through a lot of hardship in the first 2 ½ years of her life. There were no birthday celebrations, no joy-filled Christmas mornings, no siblings to play with, and no parents to tuck her into bed and say prayers.
But the God of WONDER stepped into her life and she became a beloved daughter and sister through the miracle of adoption.
As WONDERful as this time was for our family, I believe that it’s not just the big things in life that are full of WONDER. In fact, I believe it’s often the little things that create the greatest sense of WONDER.
Could it be that time around the table with your family reminiscing about times past creates in you a sense of WONDER?
Or perhaps the blissful sleep of a newborn baby stirs WONDER in your heart?
Or maybe it is giving a special gift to someone in need this holiday season that sparks WONDER in your soul?
Or perhaps a simple smile from a stranger on the street creates a sense of WONDER in your spirit?
Whatever the case may be, there are a million little things that can spark WONDER if we simply open our eyes, ears, hearts and minds.
Let’s not lose our sense of WONDER, for this truly is the most WONDERful time of the year!
May God bless you and your family this holiday season!
Kelly Preston is a nurse-turned-stay-at-home-mom to four amazing and energetic children. Though she sometimes forgets to buy toilet paper amidst their busy schedules, Kelly finds time to run RACE for the Orphans, a non-profit focused on supporting adoptive families. She loves Jesus, people, a really good book, and pondering the little things.
Inspiring as always! I love the picture… a life of wonder for Miss Jenna and your dear family as she unfolds the wonder in the life the Father has for her. As well as all your precious family <3