Sounds Of The Earth

SUN., JUNE 16, 1985, 6:27 AM
FARM, STUDY

At your awakening this morning you heard sounds that were not soothing and sleep encouraging (though they could be). The sounds of cattle lowing have come to mean possible trouble, and so you walked until you were reassured. This was not your day for a cattle chasing challenge. But it is a day to hear My musings on sounds of the earth. Be attentive, o son.

There are many sounds here in the earth, some from the earth itself, some from the creatures I have created, and many from the activities of humans. You have a limited range of hearing, so there are some sounds that you do not hear, some regretfully and some blessedly. Hearing is a gift, and you have a somewhat short portion. Do what you can to maintain and enhance this gift, but, importantly, you must value and appreciate what you have. Often you could be more attentive to sounds, knowing that these are evidences of life and activity, just as movement is. A silent earth would be a dead earth.

This is a season of thunderstorms, and this is one of My fine “concoctions,” for it combines the sight of moving clouds, lightning, and waving trees with the marvelous crash and roar of thunder. Oh, there is always some danger as these storms pass through, but chances for harm are slight, and the beauty of this combination should be appreciated… and attributed to Me. This shall enhance your enjoyment. Try it next time.

On this early Sunday morn the sounds are few, so individual ones can be recognized and appreciated. That wonderful sound of the dove that you have heard in so many places is certainly one to hear with pleasure. The sounds on the highway are few, with almost no truck noise. The sounds of the country do dominate on this morning.

You can recall the sounds of the city as you heard them just a year ago. These can be harsh, loud, persistent and clashing sounds, and they are not My favorites, but they often represent the realities of “modern” life. Everyone generates trash and garbage, and in a city this must be removed so that life can go on (generating more). People must travel to work. Goods must be moved, so that they can be used. Many of the activities of life in a city generate sounds, and the city puts them all together. This is harsher than the dove call, but representative of active life.

Music is a special kind of sound, one with a good portion of spirit. You could have organ music on now, and it would be a sound that would stir your spirit. Each person responds to music… or, more accurately, the different musics… in unique ways. You enjoy a rather wide range of music, but you also dislike a large range. I do not disapprove of likes and dislikes, but I abhor prejudice, so keep your mind and spirit as open as possible to new and different sounds… and even listen, occasionally, with some attention, to ones that you ordinarily reject.

What is the sound of God? This is a scarcely asked theological question. The answer is not that He is silent. Yet to attribute a sound to God may be presumptuous. You do not hear My voice as an audible sound. If you did, what do you suppose it would sound like? Probably deep, clear, and melodious. Wouldn’t I choose the best voice possible to utter the important words that are Mine to share. But might I also not disdain and even take the voice of the handicapped person, for whom speech is difficult and the sounds not pleasant? Might I speak as one of the least of these, My brethren.