The Significance of Surprise
“Peekaboo!” I said to my baby son with a smile, as I popped my head up over the railing. He grinned, laughed, and squealed with glee. Why do babies experience so much joy at being surprised? For that matter, why is surprise an element in so many aspects of adult life as well? We conceal Christmas gifts with wrapping paper. We prefer that marriage proposals happen at an unexpected moment. We marvel at surprise-twist endings in the movies. There seems to be no clear survival benefit to doing these things. Could there be some deeper significance to surprise?
The following are three ideas to consider:
It’s built into the fabric of reality. Our very existence is a surprise. There is no necessary reason why I should exist. I don’t create my own being. I am here and I continue to exist because of reasons outside of my own control. Every morning that I wake up, every moment that I live, is a gift.
It’s God’s M.O. He likes surprises. His creation is full of them. He causes amorphous balls of gas to become brilliant stars and humble acorns to become majestic oaks. Salvation history is full of surprises too. Moses parts the Red Sea and David defeats Goliath. The Savior of the entire world comes as a humble infant in a manger. After being crucified, He rises from the dead.
It’s eternal. Imagine you have died. Everything goes black and then you wake up for the last time. Ever. Waking up in the afterlife is the biggest surprise you will ever experience and all surprises in this life are a preview of what is to come.
Reality is surprising. This week I invite you to experience the continual unfolding of your life with an interior posture that is open to being surprised.
What would you need to believe in order to perceive the world with greater wonder? What actions could you take in order to cultivate a readiness to be surprised by reality?
God Bless,
Dan
