{"id":151,"date":"2012-05-02T05:15:00","date_gmt":"2012-05-02T11:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/69.195.124.95\/~redletu4\/i-ask-for-wonder\/"},"modified":"2012-05-02T05:15:00","modified_gmt":"2012-05-02T11:15:00","slug":"i-ask-for-wonder","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/i-ask-for-wonder\/","title":{"rendered":"I ask for wonder"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\u201cWe strain to renew our capacity for wonder, to shock ourselves into astonishment once again.\u201d<\/em>
\u2014 Shana Alexander<\/em>
\u00a0
There was one point in my life that all I wanted was salvation.<\/i>
Sick of my selfish ways, tired of the struggle, and lost in sin, I needed a savior. On a hot July night, I bowed my head and prayed with a grey-haired man with gnarled fingers pointing to the path down the Roman road.<\/p>\n

Then I wanted knowledge<\/i>. I began to buy books \u2014 C.S. \u00a0Lewis<\/a>, Francis Schaeffer<\/a>, Josh McDowell<\/a>, Walter Martin<\/a>, Ravi Zacharais and other men who could give reason for faith gripped my mind. I loved the challenge and joust, eager to share my headstrong belief.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Photo by D. Rupert<\/i><\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Then I wanted experienc<\/i>e. I wanted to see where God was at work. I wanted to talk to the homeless, the drug addict, the lost dogs who had wandered. I sought them out and shared the gospel and hoped for positive return. We opened home and table, wallet and hearts. They often took and walked away, but still I wanted the experience of their lives, broken and yet so fixable. In the meantime, \u00a0I looked for God to stir my own soul, to awaken me every day.<\/p>\n

Then I just wanted to find my way back home<\/i>.\u00a0The path that I knew was right \u00a0was overgrown, neglected by my own disregard. Then abandoned by love, spurned by friends, and forgotten, I wallowed in pity. \u00a0I had all the salvation, all the knowledge and the experience in the world, but I still had no idea.<\/p>\n

Now, I\u2019m home again and there\u2019s one thing I want. I ask for wonder.\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n

My priorities are so different know, because they are so undefined. I want to wake up every morning and be gripped by the awe of the sunrise. I want to hear the birdsong like it\u2019s the first\u00a0time. I want to lose myself in this deep love that has no beginning and no end. I want to drive on a dusty road with the windows down, the radio up high, a 1\/4 tank of gas and not a worry in the world.<\/p>\n

I want to revel in the unknown like a traveler in a new land. I want to embrace the mystery like child. I want to draw a question mark with a stubby pencil.<\/i><\/p>\n

Wonder is what my friend Laura Boggess<\/a>\u00a0desires most for her boy, \u201cwho will awake under a star-strewn sky \u2014 filled with wonder at what God has done<\/i>.\u201d She talks about the mysterion<\/i> found in the Greek new testament, those profound mysteries<\/a> that are meant to be\u00a0discovered\u00a0\u2014 in due time.<\/div>\n

I\u2019m not dropping out. I\u2019ll still pull my tie up to my neck and report to work. I\u2019ll continue to sit through sermons every Sunday, study with passion, participate in small groups and listen to Christian music. I\u2019ll share my faith and do all the duties that I know to be true. But still, I\u2019ll get lost in the wonder of it all and just smile.<\/p>\n

Funny, but embracing the uncertainty is the most certain thing a man can do.<\/p>\n

Care to comment?<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Enhanced<\/a><\/div>\n
Please, share with a friend if you feel moved.
\nRead all past issues at http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert<\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cWe strain to renew our capacity for wonder, to shock ourselves into astonishment once again.\u201d\u2014 Shana Alexander \u00a0 There was one point in my life that all I wanted was salvation.Sick of my selfish ways, tired of the struggle, and lost in sin, I needed a savior. On a hot July night, I bowed my […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2375,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[131,307,464,567,622,714,749,976],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-151","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-christianity","category-francis-schaeffer","category-josh-mcdowell","category-mystery","category-passion-for-living","category-religion-and-spirituality","category-salvation","category-wonder"],"yoast_head":"\nI ask for wonder<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\""We strain to renew our capacity for wonder, to shock ourselves into astonishment once again."-- Shana Alexander \u00a0 There was one point in my life that all\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/i-ask-for-wonder\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"I ask for wonder\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\""We strain to renew our capacity for wonder, to shock ourselves into astonishment once again."-- Shana Alexander \u00a0 There was one point in my life that all\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/i-ask-for-wonder\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"David Rupert\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"www.facebook.com\/davidrupert\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-05-02T11:15:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/-kF7ZDSAKLhI\/T6CYA8D4VYI\/AAAAAAAABxs\/KnUqSGRdX1Y\/s400\/6954946694_a879a9b3b1_z.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"David Rupert\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@rupzip\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"David Rupert\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/i-ask-for-wonder\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/i-ask-for-wonder\/\",\"name\":\"I ask for wonder\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2012-05-02T11:15:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2012-05-02T11:15:00+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/#\/schema\/person\/1ee971d3244e1f67a487a31f55d37c81\"},\"description\":\"\\\"We strain to renew our capacity for wonder, to shock ourselves into astonishment once again.\\\"-- Shana Alexander \u00a0 There was one point in my life that all\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/i-ask-for-wonder\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/i-ask-for-wonder\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/i-ask-for-wonder\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"I ask for wonder\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/\",\"name\":\"David Rupert\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/#\/schema\/person\/1ee971d3244e1f67a487a31f55d37c81\",\"name\":\"David Rupert\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/47e7c27dc78a66ace4b19bb00da8bccc?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/47e7c27dc78a66ace4b19bb00da8bccc?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"David Rupert\"},\"description\":\"I am a communication professional who has a passion for people. 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