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Wonderfear

Updated: Dec 5, 2018

As I’m preparing, researching, and generally agonizing about this new writing project, I’ve been spending time in the natural world.

For me, that’s outside the walled dwelling space where I usually work. My daunting task is to write to life a character that will journey from fear to a focus on the wonder of her Creator and his creation. That is where this author believes the answer will reside–in a place and state of wonder


We have the privilege of living in two beautiful locations. One is in Idaho and the other is on the remote tip of Washington’s Olympic Peninsula. The morning we walked out on the beach I’d been pondering this truth of finding peace in proper perspective of our place in creation. I walked out on the sun-kissed beach with senses heightened, ready to receive inspiration. Nature did not disappoint; it rarely does.


A mile down the beach a group of five eagles were gathered around a carcass of a dead harbor seal. When we encroached on their buffet, they flew off to sit and observe our passing from a distance. Perched on the driftwood at the edge of the tide line, they appeared more like magnificent carvings than living creatures. We passed and settled down to watch them. Before they returned, a plucky seagull chose to take advantage of the free feast. It was an ill-advised opportunity.


A flash of white, a flutter of wings, and one eagle swooped down on the unobservant seagull. The gull flew up, but too late. The eagle caught it in flight. A struggle ensued. The eagle lost its grip and the gull plunged into the sea. We held our breath, hoping the gull had escaped death’s snare. It was not to be. After a few minutes of floating, the gull’s head lowered to the waves and it was lifeless.


Stunned, we watched the body float a few feet from shore; the eagle returned to his perch. It was a drama played out in less than five minutes. Raw and awe-inspiring, this glimpse of the naturally ordered world left us speechless. I realized that my heart-pounding reaction was a response to wonder. Awful and wonderful. The term that had filled my imagination was realized on the beach that morning. This was wonderfear.


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