7 Wonders of the World

Say what you will about the Internet and emailing but they are both wondrous ways of learning and communicating.

I recently received an email about the 7 Wonders of the World.

It was about a teacher asking her students if they knew what the 7 Wonders of the World were. The answers they came up with were: The Great Pyramids of Egypt; the Empire State Building; the Taj Mahal; the Grand Canyon; the Panama Canal; St. Peter Basilica; the Great Wall of China.

Each one is indeed a Wonder of the World.

Then she asked the students to come up with a list of their own 7 Wonders of the World. Some said the Statue of Liberty, the Eiffel Tower, Stonehenge and there were many others.

But the teacher was very touched by one girl's list. Her 7 Wonders of the World list included: To See; To Hear; To Touch; To Feel; To Laugh; To Love. Her seventh one was the greatest wonder of all-God's amazing love for humanity in sending His only son, Jesus, to set us free and give us everlasting life.

Too often we take the beauty and amazing aspects of our Father's world around us for granted. Or we're just too busy to observe and appreciate. We hear how we should stop and smell the roses from time to time.

God knows we are busy with our jobs, our families, our commitments. But He wants us to take some of our time each day in our hectic lives to acknowledge the beautiful natural world He created and to give thanks for the abilities to see, hear, touch, feel, laugh and love and for His wondrous love for us-the greatest Wonder of the World.

If each of us sat down and wrote out our own list of the 7 Wonders of the World, I'm sure they would all be different. My own would be: the birth of a baby; a magnificent sunset; the grandeur of the mountains out west; the incredible blue/green water of the Caribbean; the beauty of a sunny autumn day with the fall foliage at its peak; the love I see in my husband's eyes; and the feel of my daughter's arms around me in a shared hug.

But I have to admit. I like the wonder of laughter the girl included in her list.

So, how about some fun?

Another list for the 7 Wonders of My World...

1. It's a wonder I somehow manage to get to work on time.

It's become a game to see how long I can actually stay in bed and still shower, do my hair, eat breakfast and drive to work without taking the curves on two wheels.

2. My backyard swimming pool is a wonder.

Every time I see it, take a dip in it, float around in it, I am amazed that little old me has her very own swimming pool. Yes, it cost me my pride when I had to break down into tears and pout and sulk until I got it, but it was worth every shred of my dignity.

3. It's a wonder that I haven't killed my cat. Yet.

You know how when you get older, you go to the bathroom more often and become more needy? Well, Tinkerbell is getting very old. And has to go to the bathroom more often. Which means she's waking us up in the middle of EVERY night so we can let her out in the garage to do her business. Or, some nights she just wakes us up because she's out of water or food. Or just because she doesn't want to be the only one awake. What is the prison sentence for murdering a cat? (Just kidding. I think.)

4. It's a wonder that people really care whether or not Brad is leaving Angie and that Jennifer is still pining away for Brad and that Angela is jealous of her. Well, we really must care (NOT!) because those people are on the front cover of every gossip magazine every week as I stand in the check-out lanes in the grocery store.

5. It's a true wonder that the human body can do all those contortions as seen in the Olympic Winter Games, from triple axels in figure skating to jumping off a ski lift and soaring a bizillion feet to doing those crazy somersaults in mid air on a snowboard to going 90 mph in the luge to skating at speeds that almost pulls a skater's cheeks back like traveling in space. I call most of those stunts "nuts!" But these athletes really are a wonder.

6. Isn't it a wonder how gas prices go up and down? One minute it's almost $3 bucks and then it slides back down to $2.59. And how come I can get gas at Mr. Z's for 50 cents off the price with points from my grocery bill? Why can't every gas company give it at that price then?

7. It's a true Wonder of the World that I have the best job ever that let's me share my thoughts and weird musings with you.

You know what would make it even more of a wonder? If you would share your thoughts on what your list of the 7 Wonders of the World are, from magnificent to weird or funny.

Call me, write me or email me.

Ohhhh! Ohhhh!

Email. The information superhighway-the 8th Wonder of the World!