When you’re a child, it’s easy to feel wonder. All of life is new, fresh, surprising. You’re delighted to discover that snowflakes fall from the sky, caterpillars turn into butterflies, and fire disappears when you blow out a candle.

As adults, opportunities to experience wonder are still all around us — but sometimes we have to be intentional about recognizing them. In this issue of EASTERN magazine, we decided to focus on wonder by surveying a sampling of our faculty and staff from diverse fields and areas of specialty. We asked them to tell stories about times when they felt wonder: “surprise mingled with admiration, caused by something beautiful, unexpected, unfamiliar, or inexplicable.”

Our prayer is that these Voices on Wonder would spark that sense of delight in you as you read, reminding you of the unexpected beauty in the world God has created, and inspiring you to reflect on the unique wonders in your own life and work. May we all open our eyes — and our hearts — a little bit wider to wonder.