By Denae Jones-

I was getting ready to go to bed last night, and I saw a post from my sister. It simply said, “The moon.” I remembered that it was the night for the super blood wolf moon eclipse. When I walked outside, the frigid air was not the only thing that took my breath away. The sky was clear and sprinkled with stars, and the full moon was almost half covered with the deep red tint. It was gorgeous! Even though it was almost midnight, I got my kids up and had them come outside to watch with me. We stood, wrapped in blankets and heated rice bags, and laughed as we remembered the time I woke them to see a lunar eclipse during our homeschool years, and my oldest (who was eight at the time) cried because she thought the world was ending. We pointed out constellations. We took in the sparkling glow of the snow under the light of a full moon. We snapped pictures and stood in awe of the night sky as the moon slowly became completely covered in red.
It reminded me of another winter night many years ago, when my Mom woke up my sisters and I sometime after midnight. The sky was clear and bright, but it was also snowing those kind of giant flakes that look like snowballs falling from the sky. She made us get dressed and go on a walk down the road with her. At first, we didn’t want to go out into the cold after being warm in our beds, but after we got outside, we sang and laughed, and even linked arms and walked like The Monkees. We found ourselves surrounded by fields of snow, and the trees had every single branch blanketed in sparkling white. We stood in awe of God’s beauty.
‘Awe’ is a feeling of reverential respect, mixed with fear or wonder. We can probably name the times we have experienced true awe because it doesn’t happen very often. The moment they put my newborn babies on my chest. The view when my husband and I reached the peak of the Rocky Mountains. Watching a lightning storm across the ocean, and breathing in the warm, salty air. The first time I was on a plane and saw the earth from above the clouds. The day the entire sky turned deep orange in a few seconds’ time, and cast a deep glow across everything it touched. Those were all moments of true awe.
With today’s technology, we can virtually experience things we could have never seen otherwise. Videos and pictures of the far reaches of our solar system. Travel adventures from all over the world. The daily activities of wildlife from far-off lands, or deep below the ocean surface. (Have you seen a sea dragon? They are mesmerizing! Looks like something mythical and not even real.) I have many places on my bucket list that I may never get to see in person, so I’m glad we can have those experiences via television or the internet.
However, it seems that moments of true awe are fewer and farther between today, because we often choose to experience them virtually instead of taking time to partake in person. Today, I encourage you to look for those in-person moments and seize the day!
For example, one day this past summer, we were driving home and saw twin fawns close to the walk path in town. We all commented on how cute they were during the 10 seconds it took to drive past them. But then I thought, why not pull over and watch them for a few minutes? So I turned the car around and we all got out. The fawns let us walk within a few feet of them, and I’m sure would have eaten out of our hands if we had anything to give them. We ended up spending 15 minutes or so walking with them. It was so cool! I’m glad I took the time to make that memory with my kids.
If a meteor shower is happening in your area, set an alarm, grab some lawn chairs and blankets, and sit under the stars to experience it. Grab a cup of coffee and take a few minutes to watch that beautiful sunrise or sunset. Take notice of the blooming flowers or changing leaves. Sit around the glow of a campfire, and make s’mores instead of checking the phone.
In the city? Snap pictures of that bridge with a full moon behind it. In Washington DC, there is an enormous escalator leading to the subway system that will make your jaw drop. We don’t have to be in Europe to see exquisite masonry and artwork that went into some of the architecture of our buildings. The mosaics in Union Terminal are amazing!
I believe there is an adventurer, a noticer, and an explorer in all of us. We could experience more moments to stand in awe if only we would give that part of ourselves more opportunities. As Albert Einstein was quoted to say, “He who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe is as good as dead; his eyes are closed.”
Have a blessed week, friends!