Long before they can process language or speak for themselves, children experience the world through their five senses. Infants put anything and everything in their mouths; toddlers point and babble about what they see. Colors and shapes, textures and tastes—sensory experiences build the lives of our little ones.

They build our lives in adulthood, too, but we often lose touch with that fact and the wonder it can bring as we age. Our lives and schedules fill with obligations, and before we know it, our senses have been rendered merely pragmatic tools that we use to decide if a paint color works in that room, or if a flavor is missing from a dish, or what in the world that smell is.

In “Ordinary Life Is Crammed with Heaven,” Charlie Peacock interviews composer Joel Clarkson about his book Sensing God: Experiencing the Divine in Nature, Food, Music, and Beauty.

“Even amid the mundane, we can encounter God’s presence,” says Clarkson. “And this isn’t a matter of doing something new so much as changing our perspective within the space we already occupy.”

May we, like our children, find wonder and joy in our senses, trusting that they can draw us nearer to the one who created every delight.