My son is four, and nearly every moment with him brings a new question: Why is the moon up during the day and the night? Why do trees grow faster than me? How does snow form in the clouds?
His questions come quickly and are often unfiltered, propelled by wonder rather than fear of being wrong. He assumes the world is full of things worth knowing and that love means sharing the asking together.
Sometimes, when I’m tired or distracted, I want to give quick answers so we can move on. But then I notice his wide eyes tracing the stars or the curve of an acorn cap, and I remember: this is what love looks like. Love pauses. Love listens. Love makes room for curiosity.
In Advent, we wait for Love to draw near, but perhaps Love is already here, already alive in every question that invites us to look again. Children seem to know that instinctively. They remind us that the world is not finished, that mystery still breathes between the ordinary things we pass by too quickly. Their wonder is not naïve. It is faithful. It trusts that creation is still speaking and that God’s presence is never far away.
As adults, we can lose that sense of wonder. We settle for explanations instead of awe, efficiency instead of attention. Yet love, at its heart, keeps asking, “What more is possible?” It leans toward discovery, toward compassion, toward hope that the story is still unfolding.
When I see my son’s face illuminated by wonder, I catch a glimpse of the love that formed the world, the love Mary sang about when she said, “The Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name.” (Luke 1:49)
And maybe that’s what Advent is, learning again to be astonished. To see God’s love breaking into our world not with fanfare but with quiet persistence. To look up, wide-eyed, and notice that even before the angels sing and the child is born, love is already here.
Prayer: God of wonder and delight, open our eyes to see as children do, with curiosity, trust, and joy. Interrupt our certainty with awe. As Christmas draws near, may love surprise us again, breaking into our world with grace we did not expect. Amen.
John Kupar serves as the Interim Associate Pastor to Youth. Outside of ministry, John enjoys playing disc golf, strumming the banjo, and spending time with his wife, Katherine, and two young children, Burnam (4) and Maggie (1).