This half-term we painted our hallway. We live in a rented house and after 5 years of being here, the constant comings and goings had left the walls in need of some attention. As usual, I had massively underestimated the scale of the job – the hall and stairs isn’t even a room, is it? It’s a tiny space – day and a half’s job, tops!!! What I had neglected to notice was the fact that every room in the house comes off the hall, stairs or landing – the edging around doorways etc took nearly 2 days itself.

Anyway – the job is now done and we are currently enjoying the final stage of the task, something my dad refers to as JAT – Job Appreciation Time. JAT is the time when you sit back and appreciate the fruit of your labour and, as it turns out, it’s not something my dad invented – it’s been a thing since the beginning of time!! If we go right back to the creation story at the beginning of Genesis, JAT time is sprinkled liberally throughout it as God frequently takes time to reflect and notice a job well done:

‘God saw all that He had made, and it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning – the sixth day.’ Gen 1:31

The brilliant quote we looked at in our introduction to Wonder, from the poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning, says:

‘Earth’s crammed with heaven and every common bush a fire with God. But only he who sees it takes off his shoes. The rest sit around it and pluck blackberries.’

I want to be someone who ‘sees it’ – who notices what is good and wondrous and is thankful for it. But, if I am honest, it can be easy to miss as too often I am rushing through my day, my mind full of what is next rather than what is now.

Walking with Wonder brings a fullness to our lives that spills into thankfulness and has the power to change our focus, our perspective – our very approach to life. It isn’t necessarily something that happens by default – it can need intentionality – but a great way to start is to make space for some JAT time! Time to pause, to notice and to celebrate – to notice the Wonder of God at work in our lives and to thank Him for his goodness.

So, here are a few top tips to building a rhythm of wonder each day:

1. Pause

Last week, we explored what it can look like to punctuate our day with moments of Stillness. I have found that those regular moments of Stillness help me be more present in each day and so, make space to notice and then wonder.

There are loads of ideas of how to build in moments to pause and be still in the ‘Stillness – First Steps’ blog.

2. Notice and Reflect

As we pause, we make space to notice where God is at work in our life and can reflect on His goodness. In the resources section you will find a reflective practice tool that can help with this, called ‘A How, A Wow and A Bow’ that we looked at in the intro to Wonder.

Another tool that I find really helpful with this is the ancient pattern of prayer called the Examen.

The Examen is a pattern of prayer, traditionally done by many religious orders both at lunchtime and in the evening, that invites God to help us prayerfully reflect on the day that has passed, asking Him to draw our attention to where He has been at work in our life and encouraging us to consider our responses in those moments. As with Lectio Divina, you will find lots of information on praying The Examen online, but a resource I have found incredibly helpful is the night prayer from 24/7 prayer on their Lectio 365 app which is based on the Examen pattern of prayer.

I have found that using the Lectio 365 night prayer has helped me notice the faithfulness of God as I have stilled myself in the evening. It is also an incredibly soothing and peaceful way to end the day and approach the rest of the night. You can find more information on the lectio 365 app here [Lectio 365]

3. Give thanks

Wonder and Thankfulness go hand in hand and a great way to reflect on the goodness of God and make sure we notice His Wonder in our day is to start by considering what it is that we are thankful for.

“What’s been the joy in your day?’ has become an encouragement and challenge among colleagues in the school I work in which has helped us all to shift focus and we are finding that, even on the most difficult days, we can always find an answer.

Keeping a gratitude diary, or simply writing down 3 things you are thankful for at the end of a day, is something that is widely advised by healthcare practitioners and mental health champions as something that is beneficial and can strengthen and support mental health. As with most good things, it was God’s idea first – the bible is full of encouragement to give thanks with a grateful heart. As followers of Jesus, our thankfulness can bring a richness and depth that makes space for wonder as we spend time in the presence of the One to whom we bring our thanks.

It was common, at one time, in teaching to give feedback using the acronyms WWW and EBI – ‘What Went Well’ and ‘Even Better If’.

As I reflect on my day, do I sometimes rush through or even skip over the “What went well?’ reflection?

What does it look like to finish the day and notice where ‘it was good’ or even ‘it was very good’?