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Episode 4: The Gift of Wonder with Dr. Christine Sine
It was my privilege to interview Dr. Christine Sine. Christine trained as a medical doctor in Australia and moved on to be Chief Medical Office for Mercy Ships in its early years, developing their renowned programs for treating cleft lip and palate and cataracts all around the world. After living on the Mercy Ship M/V Anastasis for 12 years, she re-settled with her husband in Seattle, Washington, where she has a full life as a contemplative activist, author, gardener, and liturgist—intertwining the sacred through all of life.
Broader Prospective of Health
While traveling on the Mercy Ships, she worked awhile in refugee camps at the Thailand-Cambodia border. This turned her faith and her view of health upside down, and made her begin thinking of health more broadly. She recognized that individual health was only part of the picture and that the health of the world and sustainability must addressed.
Watch the Interview
““What are the characteristics of childhood that make us fit for the kingdom of God?” ”
“What bring us wholeness?”
All her work explores this question, for example, her recent online course, Spirituality of Gardening.
Christine joyfully describes her most recent book, the Gift of Wonder. She wondered what Jesus meant in Matthew 18:3 when he said:
Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children,
you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.
“What are the characteristics of childhood that make us fit for the kingdom of God?” Play, nature, imaginations, curiosity and so on—things that also make us happy and healthy.
Christine’s Key words that lead us towards health of body, mind, and spirit:
Play
Awe
Wonder
Gardening
Re-Wonderment
Takeaways
Never lose faith. There are no failures in the garden, only opportunities to try something different. Let us all apply this to our lives as well.
Welcome or re-invite wonder into your life. Try Christine’s Awe and Wonder Walks—notice the beauty of trees, the creativity of another’s garden, the interesting designs of the roofs in your neighborhood, or graffiti and murals in your city.
Additional Links and Resources
Return to Our Senses: Reimagining How We Pray by Dr. Christine Sine
Robert Macfarlane book, The Lost Words, that speaks of the removal of the nature words from the dictionary.
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About Christine Sine
Christine Sine
Christine is the founder and facilitator of Godspace, which grew out of her passion for creative spirituality, gardening and sustainability. Together with her husband, Tom, Christine also co-founded Mustard Seed Associates. She is a contemplative activist, passionate gardener, author, and liturgist.
About Donna
Dr. Donna Chacko promotes health of body, mind, and spirit through her website (serenityandhealth.com), her blog, and programs at her church. She is the author of Pilgrimage: A Doctor’s Healing Journey (Luminare Press, 2021).
Donna previously practiced medicine for forty years, first as a radiation oncologist and later, after re-training, as a family medicine doctor. What she learned taking care of immigrants and the homeless in Washington, D.C., continues to influence her programs. A central theme is that health of body, mind, and spirit is interrelated and connected to God, all as a package deal. Donna is a wife, mother, and grandmother and lives in University Park, Maryland.
Questions? Reach out to Donna Chacko.
This blog was conceived during my recent visit to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. My husband and I rode the metro downtown to see the exhibit of pastels, called “The Touch of Color,” which will run until January 26, 2020. Pastels are a mix of pigment, chalk or clay, and a binder all mixed together into sticks that look like chalk as we know it.