Reaching across the purple loveseat where we sat, I grabbed a hunk of
my husband’s wildly overgrown hair and held it between my fingers.  “I have an idea,” I said, “Let’s hold Daddy
down and cut his hair.”

The kids, sprawled around the room in various stages of candy
consumption, cheered at the idea. 

My husband laughed and shrugged it off.

A second later Isaiah, returning at a run from the kitchen where the
scissors are kept, ran up behind my husband and started snipping.

John lunged forward and spun around to face his attacker, panicked at
the idea of a four-year-old hacking at his hair. 

It sounded like Isaiah had scissors, but he didn’t.  We all got a good laugh out of it and no one
was happier than Isaiah.  His double
dimples winked with delight at the trick he played. 

Standing behind John, the twins reenacted the prank over and over again
and John followed along responding to every attack with a leap and shout.  It was like they were rehearsing parts in a
play. 

Snip. Leap. Shout. Laugh.

They repeated the scene until their laughs were forced, a thin duplication
of their initial joy.

Looking on, I was reminded how often little children repeat the things
that give them joy.  
Tasting a moment of delight, they demand “do it again”, savoring its
sweetness, sucking joy down to its marrow.
 

I’m far more likely to reenact the difficult moments in life, to stand over
the kitchen sink come evening obsessively repeating a difficult conversation or
the bumpiest parts of my day.  With the
remembering comes the feelings and, in the middle of a perfectly fine day, I
can find myself sunk in the shame or guilt of an incident that happened some
fifteen or twenty years ago.

This is what I thought as I watched my boys running themselves round
and around in that groove of delight. 
Humans, young and old, learn through repetition and there they stood,
giggling, earning a degree in joy. 

*   *   *

Welcome to the #SmallWonder link-up.

What if we chose to deliberately look for the small moments of wonder, the small sparks of presence, of delight or sorrow, of true humanity in which we meet God? 

That’s my proposal – that we gather here each week to share one moment of Wonder from each of our days.  

You’re invited to link-up a brief post about a small moment of wonder.  Don’t worry if your post is too long, too short, or not just right – you’re welcome to come as you are.  

While you’re here, please do take a look around and encourage at least one other blogger with a comment.  

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