Ah, the wonder of childhood.

When I was in WV a few weeks ago my brother and I went for a walk with my five-year-old niece. We walked over a mile, down to Laurel Fork, where we saw some fish. Along the way we also encountered a herd of very noisy cows, a trickling stream with “dinosaur teeth” (little, white stones), jewel weed with exploding seed pods, tea berries which ARE safe to eat although not very tasty, and a myriad of other interesting things.

After all that, as we approached the farm house, Olivia suddenly stopped in the road, looked down, and said, “Daddy! Rocks!”

And so there were. Much like the rocks we’d encountered every step of the way along our walk.

And yet–Olivia was thrilled, delighted, in awe of the rocks she’d just “discovered” right there in her own driveway. She pounced on them and wanted to take them home to add to her collection.

How often do we fail to see the amazing thing right in front of our eyes (or under our feet)? The sparkling bit of quartz mingling with all the plain, grey stones. Or better yet, the grey stone that somehow stands out from all the others in shape or size or texture.

There are wonders surrounding us all the time. I think the trick to seeing them is simply being willing.