The Power of Wonder Part 4
April 24, 2026
The Power of Wonder Part 4
What if the questions you carry are not meant to be answered, but to make you more aware?
We often think of wonder as simple curiosity. We wonder how long it has been since our last dental visit. We wonder how a butterfly forms its chrysalis. We wonder who will win an election. In these moments, we wonder by leaning into a mystery on any level we do not yet understand, and hoping to find an answer to “what?” “how?” and “why?”
So wonder is more than a question; it is an experience. Some say that it is a state of being. Certainly, the soul child lives in that awestruck state much of the time.
This is a deeper kind of wonder that lives not only in the mind, the heart, or the body, but in all of these through the soul. It is the breath-taking awe over something vast, infinite… it is being wondrously captivated by the beautiful, or by anything beyond comprehension. It is admiration, amazement, even reverence in the presence of mystery. The word wonder is drawn from the Old English “wunder,” and carries this sense of astonishment of standing before something extraordinary and simply receiving it.
Perhaps one of our earliest encounters with wonder comes through a familiar childhood song, “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star,” written by Jane Taylor, in 1806. Though often reduced to a simple lullaby, its verses fill us with a profound sense of awe. The star is not explained, but honored. It is not reduced to knowledge but is part of the mystery.
Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
How I wonder what you are!
Up above the world so high,
Like a diamond in the sky.
When the blazing sun is gone,
When he sees nothing shines upon,
Then you show your little light,
Twinkle, twinkle, all the night.
Then the traveler in the dark
Thank you for your tiny spark,
How could he see where to go,
If you did not twinkle so?
In the dark blue sky you keep,
Often through my curtains peep
For you never shut your eye,
Till the sun is in the sky.
As your bright and tiny spark
Lights the traveler in the dark,
Though I know not what you are,
Twinkle, twinkle, little star.
These words capture the heart of wonder. Not knowing does not diminish the experience or elicit fear, but deepens the wonder inside us.
Taylor’s piece "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" can also be a theological approach to God’s existence and guidance. We wonder what God is. We accept that God is a mystery. We wonder about God’s light, which is far above us, and God’s energy that shines in our lives. We are amazed that God’s light shines most in our darkness — even until our darkness ends. As spiritual travelers in the mystery, we could not see where to go if not for the ever-present light of God. We are thankful for and have faith in God’s light that shines in our dark moments and seasons.
Seen this way, the poem becomes more than a child’s rhyme; it becomes a lived reflection on the divine. We wonder what God is. We accept that God is a mystery. And yet, like the distant star, God’s light reaches us, especially in the darkness. When the brightness of certainty fades, something gentler, steadier begins to shine. Like travelers in the night, we are guided not by full understanding, but by faith.
We may not fully comprehend God’s presence, but we experience it in moments of peace, in unexpected strength, in steady guidance when the path is unclear. And in those moments, wonder becomes trust and faith in action.
Wonder, then, is not just something we think. It is something we feel, something we live. It softens us, opens us, and reminds us that not everything must be explained. In fact, the mystery is even more meaningful because it is not fully comprehended.
Spiritual practice: Step outside under the night sky. Let yourself be still. Look up and allow the vastness to meet you. Do not rush to name or understand—feel. Let wonder move through your mind, your body, your heart. If you see a star, you might want to say the words, “Twinkle twinkle little star, how I wonder what you are.”
Self-inquiry: In your own life, how is wonder a quality of your soul? Do you ever consciously enter wonder?
Prayer:
Dear God, How I wonder who you are, and how I trust that someday I will know more. Amen.
