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To Say One Million Times, WOW!: Essays on Awe, Faith, and Family from America’s Great Outdoors (and Some Hotel Rooms) by Sarah M. Wells

To Say One Million Times, WOW! is a luminous collection of essays that blends travel writing, spiritual reflection, and the tender complexities of family life. What begins as a road trip with two teenage sons, a tent, and a stack of peanut‑butter‑and‑jelly sandwiches becomes something far deeper: a meditation on awe, transition, and the slow, surprising ways God meets us in the ordinary and the wild. For ministry leaders, this book offers a rich resource for preaching, pastoral care, and the ongoing work of helping communities pay attention to the sacred woven through everyday life.

Awe as spiritual formation

Wells sets out in search of wonder, and her writing makes a compelling case that awe is not a luxury but a spiritual necessity. Her descriptions of the Indiana Dunes, the Badlands, Yellowstone, Zion, and Pikes Peak are not simply travelogue—they are invitations to recover the capacity to be moved. In a culture marked by hurry, distraction, and digital noise, Wells reminds readers that awe recalibrates the soul. It slows us down, opens us up, and reorients us toward God.

For pastors and worship leaders, this theme is deeply resonant. Awe is often the missing ingredient in congregational life—not because people lack faith, but because they lack space. Wells’ essays model a posture of attentiveness that can shape preaching, retreat planning, and spiritual direction. Her writing encourages communities to rediscover wonder not only in dramatic landscapes but in the small, unplanned moments that reveal God’s presence.

Honest reflections on transition and limitation

One of the book’s pastoral strengths is Wells’ honesty about the transitions she is navigating: children growing up, shifting vocational dreams, and the physical and emotional limits imposed by long‑COVID. She writes with warmth and humour, but also with a vulnerability that will resonate with anyone who has felt life change beneath their feet.

For ministry contexts, these reflections offer language for the liminal spaces many people inhabit—midlife questions, shifting identities, and the grief that accompanies change. Wells does not rush to resolution. Instead, she models a faith that is curious, patient, and willing to sit with uncertainty. This makes the book a valuable companion for pastoral conversations about resilience, identity, and the slow work of discernment.

Family as a place of grace and discovery

Wells’ interactions with her teenage sons are among the book’s most moving moments. She captures the humour, tension, and tenderness of parenting adolescents while also exploring what it means to rediscover one another on the road. Her writing honours the sacredness of family life without idealising it.

For congregations, these essays offer insight into the spiritual dynamics of family relationships—how love stretches, how communication evolves, and how shared experiences can become moments of grace. Pastors will find rich material here for sermons on intergenerational relationships, the formation of children, and the spiritual significance of everyday family rhythms.

A theology of presence rather than perfection

Wells’ spiritual reflections are gentle but profound. She does not present awe as an escape from reality but as a way of grounding ourselves more deeply in it. Her essays suggest that God’s presence is found not in our perfection but in our paying attention. Whether she is standing before the vastness of Zion or sitting in a hotel room with aching lungs, she writes with a faith that is embodied, honest, and hopeful.

This emphasis on presence over performance is a needed corrective for ministry leaders who often feel pressure to be endlessly productive or spiritually “on.” Wells’ writing invites a slower, more spacious spirituality—one that honours limits, welcomes questions, and trusts that God is already at work.

A closing reflection

To Say One Million Times, WOW! is a beautifully crafted book that offers far more than travel stories. It is a pastoral companion for anyone seeking to rediscover wonder, navigate transition, or deepen their attentiveness to God’s presence. Wells writes with a rare blend of humour, honesty, and spiritual insight, making this collection a valuable resource for preaching, pastoral care, and personal reflection.

It leaves the reader with a simple, transformative invitation: to look up, to pay attention, and to whisper “wow” at the God who meets us in mountains, in hotel rooms, and in the unfolding journey of our own lives.