Wander Into Wonder

Posted byGary FultzPosted inabundant life, accomplishment, adventure, Build Faith, cold, communion with God, devotional thoughts, dreamer, eternal, Faith, Gary Fultz, GaryFultz Blog, Inner Peace, Know God, Nature, Nature and Inner Peace, nature pictures, outdoor adventure, outdoor scenery, Peace, perspective, Photography, picture truths, quality of life, snow conditions, solitude, Spiritual Perspective, victorious livingTags:, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

I wonder about wonder and wander here and there.

Large fluffy flakes with no wind in subzero temps perched loosely wherever. The most fragile of loosely knit flakes. Rare. A thousand flakes might equal one raindrop. Brilliant white cotton candy snow. I long to share what can’t be seen. Words fall as short as time with eternity.

Click for enlarging pictures and wandering through. Enjoy the perspectives and maybe feel a bit of wonder from my recent wander-about in the thigh deep snow.

To wonder is one of my personal signs; creativity levels, another sign. It means I am Okay inside. When life is hard and cold and I wander into wonder, there is joy in my innermost being.

It’s not the snow or nature or the wonder of it all, it’s the wonder in me that can enjoy natures wonder beyond words expressed.

Wonder meets wonder, acknowledging the artistic beauty, longing for more. Knowing I am alive, really alive. I have barely any significance (outside of those who know and accept me), or want any, from a world of billions of people. I know and am known by my Creator. Pure wonder.

Some, like my mother, wander to their wonder in the garden. Dad found wonder in the earth planting and harvesting. Some wonder in the shop or the kitchen and others on mountains, lakes and rivers. Always though, at it’s best, there’s more. When one has experienced the best of the best of times, there’s more.

Go ahead…comment away on your wonder and your more…

Gary

PS: I’ll put some of these pictures in the full version on my free download Unsplash page for your use.

Published by Gary Fultz

Outdoors Man, Hunter, Fisherman, Guide, Writer / Author, Photographer, Public Speaker, Musician, Song Writer, Story Teller, Follower Of Jesus. Love God and family and total strangers

74 thoughts on “Wander Into Wonder”

  1. Excellent work Gary. The wonders truly never cease. I appreciate the walk in the woods. Bet it’s really quiet out there. And a nice time for a full moon. Thanks for capturing these and sending them out our way.

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      1. I studied up on sun dogs a while back. The ancients thought they were supernatural phenomena and took them for signs. What a rare treat to have both sun and moon visible at the same time. Putting it all together, maybe it was a sign…

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  2. Amen, Gary. Beautiful photos. I always found wonder in the mountains. No place does that better for me than the Rockies of CO. Whether I was fishing, hiking, or snowboarding, the wonder was always a blessing, and it brought me closer to the Lord. God bless!

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    1. I love the mountains as well Ryan but only get there to ski or hunt elk. I slid backwards doown a logging road in slick snow with the 4×4 and almost went off a cliff into a town 2000 feet down….that’s also a crash course in prayer.
      Went to the flower shop later to find roses to smell.

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    1. It was a strange sight to see ironwoods that didn’t lose their fall leaves to be filled with snow like a cone. against a very blue sky it’s a fun sight to behold. I sure could use a warm beach about now…I understand the draw but you understand the wonder.

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  5. I love this Gary! What you say about knowing you’re okay inside when you “wander into wonder” and joy comes in your innermost being resonates loudly, I’ve just never had the words for it, but now I do! Sunsets and clouds are two of my favorites that cause me to “wander into wonder!” Thank you!

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    1. I was hoping to come up with words to express what most of us long for. It’s a bit like cleaning the floor with a toothbrush when it comes to being adequate. It takes a kinship of the same “New Creation” clan to totally understand. I’m a cloud watcher as well.

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    1. Yes, one can get lost, or found, in complete aloneness in the deep snow s of winter. I am one who is Okay with that. I actually prefer a much larger amount of aloneness than most people. You hit he key though, “look close enough”.
      There is amazing beauty in a snow laden branch , bough or leaf, but look at individual snowflakes and the universe of the mysterious snowflake surfaces.

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      1. Yes, we are quite different. I loved nothing better than being in a crowd of people in India or living in the inner-city Latino neighborhood where we were for almost 20 years. But just imagine how boring the world would be if we were all alike!

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  10. “I know and am known by my Creator. Pure wonder.”

    I have often found pure wonder with a guitar in my hands, finding lyrics and music notes to describe the indescribable. As a favorite song says, 🎶Oh, how He loves you and me!🎶

    Beautiful pictures, Gary. That’s more snow than my neck of the woods will ever see.

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    1. I understand about the music David. I write and play keyboards but my heart defaults to the woods and lakes after a couple hours of creativity. It actually bothers me a lot as I am a musical person by gift. It’s like the birthday gift I don’t use much.

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  11. Beautiful post Gary! . . . “I have barely any significance (outside of those who know and accept me), or want any, from a world of billions of people. I know and am known by my Creator. Pure wonder..”. . . I know and rest my soul in that blessed wonder. Thanks brother.

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    1. It’s our point of tension Fred. We are like the snow flake, wonderfully created and known and easily marred. Then we are gone. My irony is taking pictures with beautiful snow flakes and then shoveling the snow off the deck and drive into out of the way piles. In my case my drive-way shovel is a skid steer.

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  12. Beautiful, Gary! Photo #5 looked like a seahorse frozen in time while #6 was a dandelion puff ready for a wish, it’s seeds scattered. In #17 I saw the sorrowful photos reminiscent of the poor Russian soldiers who died from the severe winter of the Revolution. Beautiful and meaningful photos, like clouds interpreted differently by the viewer. Truly lovely shots of the wonder of nature.

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    1. Thank You Nancy. My siblings and my kids see things (just like you do in these pictures) while walking through the woods that remind us of events, characters, other relatives, stories and so on. When out there, it’s fun to let the brain run “out there”

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  13. And ‘wonder’ is the most basic element of true worship. A now deceased Englishman friend of mine told me how, when he took his young son to see St. Paul’s Cathedral in London for the first time, the youngster stared around him and then up. Immediately he went on his tippy-toes, as he took in the beauty of it all.

    Both (wonder and worship) restore our souls. (Ps. 23)

    Magnificent collage, thanks for the treat, Gary!

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    1. Wonderful insight story Erroll. I remember asking small groups of teenagers to share a time when they felt closest to God. Someone in the group always seemed to have a story of visiting a majestic building, church, cathedral.
      We are created to feel and know wonder and discover that narrow path to knowing God and worshipping Him.

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  14. These photographs are awesome! I love the concept, “Wander into wonder.” Our wanderings take us many places…When we see God’s hand in everything around us, we do feel joy. We understand that we ourselves are His handiwork, just like each snowflake that He has created. God loves for us to wander and experience all the wonderful things He has made for us to enjoy from our own unique perspective. What you ‘see’ may be very different from what someone else ‘sees’. That is the ‘aha’ moment when we understand that we have a deep personal relationship with God, our creator. We walk through the woods of this life, but each walk is completely unique.

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    1. You are echoing my thoughts that I have as I wade through the snow in the woods Linda. I have always thought it would be fun (but tedious) to create a book of “picture truths”. A book for each season. There you go Linda. you have great insights.

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  15. So delicate, so beautiful. It looks like the leaves captured baskets-ful of snow. That looked to be very fluffy snow, easy to walk through.
    My wonder/wander moments are hiking; but also the sky: sunsets, sunrises, moon, stars. I get a thrill on a clear night with no man-made lights. What is man, that God is mindful of us???

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    1. Thanks Kathy. It really was a very delicate snow. It’s now demolished by 50mph wind gusts and a ground blizzard outside today. If that had been our first snow it would be easy to walk through. For the winter it tipped us over 60 inches of snow. It sinks packs and evaporates so it’s only thigh deep. Tough walking but one step at a time and don’t fall. New meaning to “help, I’ve fallen and can’t get up”
      We are much alike in our wonder’s. Truly grateful for God’s mind-fullness of us.

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      1. Wow. I don’t think we’re that far apart (we’re in southeastern SD) and we’re having a very dry winter. Looks like we might get socked next week, though. We’re praying for a whacker.

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    2. No we really are not. Probably 6-7 hours away. The storm paths have been more northerly this year. We have had some of your winds I think as well. A very windy season for the cold we have had. some years snow will sit on a fencepost all winter as we are in a very secluded forest area. This year it won’t last a week after snowing.

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    1. Thanks Tony. Oh yes, significance God gives us and all the kinship we gain through Him. Without that we might as well be one of those little flakes of snow. By the way, our blizzard conditions today have crushed all those fluffy flakes. Kind of sad.

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  17. Beautiful pictures. My favorite being the moon. I understand the wander to wonder and learned to appreciate it when I was caring for Mom. I would walk to her house at night and get caught in the stars, clouds, and moon. God seemed so big yet so close.

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    1. It’s a “thing” in my world. It needs to be below zero and no wind and is extremely fragile. It floats down very slowly. Then a small breeze destroys it. Obviously my word for the snows make-up.

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  19. Thank you Gary for sharing some of your wandering wonders! Several of the pictures I sat and gazed at for some time. Some made me marvel at the intricate details of God’s creative hand while others left me in awe of God’s greatness. The moment I step outside, and feel the fresh air, hear the wind rustling through the trees or sounds of the birds, and gaze on the nature around me I can feel the burdens of life lift, my eyes brighten, and my heart swell with joy. In that setting, a song of praise always bubbles up in my soul. I am grateful for our dogs and my garden who give me every excuse to get out of doors. I’ve always thought that I would shrivel up inside if I were forced to live in a city setting for any length of time. On another note, I look forward to seeing which of these pictures inspires David to write a haiku.

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    1. Thank You Beth.
      I can tell you have been there before. When we hit the song stage of wonder, we find out what bubbles forth from us. A revealing moment. I hope to download som shots tonight. David comes up with some great lines off the photos he uses. I am honored some of mine are useful.

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    1. Thanks Jim.
      I keep trying and learning to take pictures that connect with others.
      I still have not learned how to keep fingers warm but the hot chocolate later is well worth it.

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  21. Thanks for sharing your pictures, Gary. I think I liked the moon photo the best. I wonder when I look up and see the stars. It seems I didn’t do that much last year. Hope to do it more this year. I need to experience more of that sense of wonder.

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    1. There really is something about a big full moon that stops us, makes us look and wonder about a lot of things. I was fortunate to see the moon setting as the sun was rising while snow tufts sat on everything from four inches of new snow at -10 overnight. It made me actually giddy. having the camera along my walk was quite a plus.
      yes, I would encourage you see more stars and do more moon watching this year

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  23. Thankyou Laurette.
    Yes, I’m getting impatient for the next season. it will be awhile yet here.
    I suspect most of us who love getting out in nature always feel we need more, and we probably do..

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    1. I worked in manufacturing for 30 years after being a youth director in YFC for 10 years. I was always amazed at the ability of a mechanical engineer. I would describe a machine or tool needed on the plant floor and describe the end result and how it needed to be used…They would just see it as a problem to solve and make something that worked.
      Truly wonderful ability. The joke was to make something Gary could not break.

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    1. Thank you, We sure enjoy the sights here. The below zero temps and deep snow make it challenging to traipse around with a camera but well worth it after thawing out. it looks warmer there, sorry about your elm tree…we have quite a few new elm growing up here and there in the woods.

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  28. You captured some of the “wonder” for us with your photos, Gary. Thanks! My best wander into wonder moments are through nature, be that the mountains, a beach, the midst of a forest, the desert, or even my back yard being awed by an ant hill or flower blossom. I’m often captivated by macro details and know the delight of feeling almost giddy. What a mighty God we serve!

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    1. it’s a great feeling to be awed Manette. Sometimes in our own pain or other distractions one can lose the ability to be in awe. I understand the macro details fascination. When we really get to the intricate details of creation we find out how detailed our God really is. Many see God as a “Big Picture” God not concerned with the details of life…so not true (I scored low in English grammar).
      love the giddy description. Someone should write a post called “Gettin Giddy”

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    1. Alan, I like to think that each snowflake, being unique, is a frozen whisper of praise from the water on the earth. Other waters roar, crash, trickle, lap, ebb and flow. Such beauty landing in my back yard. I have to share.
      Then I shovel it into lots of big piles…sigh

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  33. “It’s not the snow or nature or the wonder of it all, it’s the wonder in me that can enjoy natures wonder beyond words expressed” – So true!

    Beautiful pictures!

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