By Kelly Jo Barnwell, Director, The Jo Brown Senior Center, Anderson, SC
Working on a recent project, I stumbled across a handwritten note. It said, “It’s not how old you are but how you are old.” And I thought as I read my dad’s handwriting from 1978, WOW!
I then read a typed document partially saying, “Good evening and welcome to what we are hoping will become an annual event.” And again, I was just WOW’d wondering how many typed documents can be read by children who hear their parent’s voices in their heads and are proud of their parent’s legacy.
And then I thought, “Oh, my! What will my kids stumble across 46 years from now, in 2070, that I have written. Will they be WOW’d?” Don’t you love how God makes our minds wonder? One WOW led to another WOW.
Then my mind drifted to people. People like Ria, my best friend since we were in the only 5th & 6th grade combination class at Wren Middle School in 1980, the M&W Sensations. This class concept only happened the one year, which tells me it wasn’t a success. The success was Ria and me, Sisterchicks forever. WOW.
People like Bill Eaves & Harold Westervelt, who sit beside each other at Belton Recreation Center OverEasy Exercise and pick on each other, laugh, and truly enjoy motion as lotion as they move their aging bodies to great music, and I am WOW’d.
To live life simply. To be in awe of everyday people. To not take one breath for granted. To choose to smile, no matter what. To be WOW’d, is to treasure the little things. WOW.
Wonder. Always be curious.
Overcome. What? So What? Now What?
Wisdom. Seek it. Be it. Share it. WOW.
Another recent moment of being WOW’d happened in our children’s ministry when we were teaching kids how to deal with their emotions. We taught them to ask those 3 questions: What? So What? Now What? What happened?
So now that it’s happened, so what about it? And now what can you do with what you’re feeling. It was simple. A way to cope with emotions. But what WOW’d me was during the next week, I was listening to Mental Fitness coaching & heard the exact same 3 questions. WOW.
So, I’m curious. How many times a day are you WOW’d? Do you lose count? Can you quickly overcome obstacles in your day, so you don’t miss a single WOW or do you get bogged down in emotions? Do you know how much wisdom surrounds us when everyday people make you go WOW!
I believe the everyday people who WOW the most grow through what they go through. They set out every morning choosing that today is THE BEST DAY EVER FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE! And they live on purpose, with purpose, for a very special purpose.
So here’s our challenge…Go Be WOW’d and WOW someone today!
