Childlike Wonder
By Stacy LaMorte
Leaving work to pick up my children from school recently, I was driving down Napoleon Avenue. It was a beautiful, crisp autumn day, so I was already feeling grateful to God for the glorious weather when I saw two boys who looked like brothers standing on the sidewalk.
They were both bent over at the waist looking into a puddle. I wondered, “What are they looking at?” They didn’t look like they were fervently looking for something they had dropped or that they were in any distress at all. They were just looking – wondering.
Then I could not help but wonder what they were wondering about!
As challenging as my job as a kindergarten teacher can be, at times, it is just as rewarding.
I love to watch children explore and discover new things every day. They are so innocent and say the most adorable, hilarious things. But the best part is seeing their insatiable sense of wonder in everything from a bug on the playground to a new word they have learned to read or spell.
Their sense of wonder is contagious, and I find it rubbing off on me.
That evening, after watching those two boys on Napoleon, I happened to go to St. Francis Xavier for a special beginning of Advent talk by Dr. Tom Neal entitled, “I Wonder as I Wander.” He addressed several instances of this same childlike wonder and explained its importance.
His inspiring words gave me permission to really embrace my childlike wonder as we navigated the season of Advent.
We are looking for you, Lord. What do you want us to see?
