By Rev. LeRoy E. Zemke
Pastor, Temple of the Living God

“ So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him.”
Genesis 1:27

“ When I consider thy heaven's, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; what is man that thou art mindful of him?
Psalms 8:3,4

For each of us, the often inexplicable yearning we have to experience something of joy, something of wonder is contained in the very heart of our life. It’s the sense of being connected to life in a way that allows us to be open to receive something of the essence or power of life’s unlimited impulses. In this sense joy is an awareness of being alive, and facilitates a vitality that is available or present everywhere inside of us.

When we enter the edge of joy we feel heightened, more alert, more deeply attuned to life’s rhythm. The outer world around us is is perceived differently, more refined, more delicate, more pristine; again, more radiant.

Wonder as a quality reflects to us a delicate openness to mystery. When we are in wonder we are in the larger question of life’s inexplicable meaning throughout all creation.

As a child, we constantly seek to learn about the “why” of things. Why and how do birds fly? How does grass grow? Why does it rain, snow, sleet or form ice? Where does wind come from? How do the sun and moon and stars stay in the sky? Are angels real? What is God? How does magic work both the slight of hand, the illusionary skill of the stage magician and the realm of the process of healing when someone recovers from a serious malady or overcomes a major problem in one’s life!

Wonder is a gateway to the infinite. It invites us to set aside preconceived notions of how life works based on the observable and replicable so called facts of the many systems of science, or technology, or how our physical bodies function or do not function.

Wonder is the mother of invention, creativity and the permission we give ourselves to explore our own inner dimensions. It’s the doorway into the region of the mystical, the psychic, the intuitive, the realm of spiritual beings and spiritual teachers who live beyond human form and the human plane.

Joy and wonder are brother/sister, friend, companion. In joy we can touch deep levels of inspiration and allow ourselves the gifts that flow into our lives from it ... a sense of purpose, a dimension of love, beauty and hope. If we can remain hopeful, our lives take on a gentle focus that is beyond words alone. It enables us to face very difficult circumstances, possible even loss because we can potentially see that there is purpose behind the appearances of that which is lost.

Recently a young mother shared this true story in very abbreviated form:

Her 8 year old son, Michael, whose physical health had been seriously compromised since birth because of a leaky valve in the main chamber of his heart, was told by many heart specialists that he would need a new heart very soon. Again, the family gathered to discuss the newest and unknown issues he faced. Should he have this very very delicate, risky, life threatening surgery or not?? This question was asked again as it had been before, prior to all the previous surgeries.

He was always included in all discussions about his health, and he spoke softly to his parents, grand parents and young sister. “I believe God brought me here to be with you. I still want to be with all of you. But if God has more for me to do, elsewhere, then I am ready to do that too. Maybe we should ask God if He has a plan for me.” All discussion stopped. The room grew quiet. One by one everyone said goodnight to Michael.

That very night, Michael died, peacefully, in his sleep, softly, gently, without pain. Somehow he had an inner quality of knowing that helped him to speak about his journey that was unfolding. Beyond medicine, beyond surgery, beyond plans and all the possible “what if’s.”

Initially, from the mother’s viewpoint, it left the family in a state of shock and intense grief. As that slowly ebbed, a state of wonder emerged ... why did Michael come into their lives? He was the famous love child. Her husband, Michael’s father, had had a vasectomy and supposedly could not become a father.

While there are no ultimate answers to the story above and the questions posed, we again are drawn into the realm of mystery. We are left to wonder ... what is life about beyond all our poetry, intellectualizations, our many interpretations based on rational thought and measured evaluations?

Joy and wonder bring us to our knees, in humility and in gratitude for what we are privileged to receive of life’s nectar.

Yet, I suspect that when clouds gather and storms assail us, there is a place of strength that awaits, once the storm passes. In the midst of the storm’s fury and intensity, we must also remember that an all powerful Source sustains and will sustain us in the future.

For each of us, the reason we step into an incarnation may be that the work of our soul is guiding the journey from start to finish. Seldom is this a task that is necessarily conscious. But as it becomes known, we are led, step by step into an ever deepening relationship to our life and its mystery.