In order to speak the words of Camille Pissarro, it is very likely that we all could use the eye of the artist. They stop to ponder where we pass by, heedless and untouched by what lays within our gaze. In places where we tramp by in our fevered rush, the pause to take a long, loving look at the real. Once they create their work of art in whatever form it might take, be it a song, a painting or a story, we are delighted, astonished and frequently deeply touched. Yet, while the artists might see what we do not see, the sight was there for us to behold as well. They may very well hear what we do not hear, but the sounds that escaped our ear were just as available to us, if we would but have ears to hear. Although the artists stopped to touch what we did not touch, the sensations of these moments were as readily present to us as they were to them. Artists do not receive a different world from the rest of us mortals, but they most assuredly look upon the world they traverse with a much more refined eye.

When Henry Ward Beecher writes, »The unthankful heart discovers no mercies; but the thankful heart will find, in every hour, some heavenly blessings«, then he is speaking about the same problem in the landscapes of the human heart. Before we can utter »We are blessed«, we must open our heart to wonder, which in turn will generate gratitude and a profound sense of being blessed. It is entirely possible to blunder through a world of startling beauty, grace and goodness without noting one iota of it.

Thus, once again, we invite you to join us as we gather around the stories of God and journey through a year with them. So much uncertainty marks our lives and great burdens have been laid upon our souls. In the places of the deep heart, we wish nothing more than to have God’s wonder and weal rewoven into the tapestry of our lives. Together we will listen to the stories of faith and rediscover the lands of wonder, which they have long charted.