Favourite Sounds

What's your favourite sound & what does it reveal about who you are? I suppose I should say that my favourite sound is an old hymn or a rousing contemporary faith anthem. And I do love to hear & sing these and how often my eyes fill up & I get a lump in my throat when the spiritual reality they evoke hits me. Or maybe I should say my favourite sound is a recording of an old preacher preaching the gospel...and I love that too. But......

I have two favourite sounds. One is the cry of the curlew, a wild bird that lives in the Irish wetlands. It has a haunting melancholic cry and I often hear it's call out as I walk by the waterfront. It reminds me of the creative hand of God & everytime I hear it & I wonder how anyone can deny the diversity of His creation or suggest that it all came from a big bang.

The other sound I really enjoy is the sea area weather forecast on BBC Radio 4. How sad am I! They read out all the sea zones around the coast of Britain & Ireland with evocative names such "South East Iceland", "German Bight" or our own Cork zone "Fastnet". When the wind is howling outside and the rain is lashing against the window on the winter evenings and I am at home by the fire with my family I thank God that we are all safe & cosy unlike those poor fishermen on the high seas some of whom never return from the storms. Maybe that's not the best "favourite sound" for a church leader to have but there you have it!

Whatever storms come your way this coming new year may you have the safety & comfort of God's presence for yourself and your loved ones. Even as the psalmist says in Psalm 91 "a thousand may fall besides you, ten thousand at your right hand but it will not come near you"

Amen!