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By Wendy Squires

Wendy Squires

What are your favourite sounds?

I strain to hear distant calls of owls on a late winter night. I wait with anticipation and feel such joy with the return of the spring peepers singing their choruses on a warm spring evening. My heart is stirred by the words, melodies, and harmonies of a church choir. My emotions are calmed by the deep, low, rhythmic purring of a contented cat. But I think my favourite sound is that of a baby laughing a full on, uncontrolled, belly laugh. The pure glee is infectious, contagious and sure to lift the spirits of anyone within earshot.

Our sense of hearing is such a treasure. One that we should never take for granted and one we should protect. My father worked many years in a shop that cut limestone for building projects. It was before the age of hearing protection and because of the high squeal of the saw blades, he lost the ability to hear anything within that range including, but not limited to, spring peeper frogs. When I hear a car drive by with the bass just booming, I cringe with the thought of what sounds they are eliminating from their futures. Many of the clients that I work with have hearing loss. Their feelings of frustration and isolation are strongly voiced. Social events are avoided because they feel they cannot participate. Phone calls to family and friends become less frequent because of the inherent challenges in communication. With less and less opportunities to share their thoughts or receive those of others, their worlds become smaller and often lonely.

Yet, however significant and important our sense of hearing is, there is also something profound in silence. Especially when it is for a chosen time and of a specified duration. A few years ago, for a fun couples event, I booked Randy and I for hearing tests. (I know, not a typical thing to do.) We both passed with flying colours. I found the sound proof booth such an amazing experience. To be able to completely separate from the cacophony of a busy day was astounding. I mentioned that to the tech and she informed me that she often ate her lunch inside the booth. Sometimes we just do need for quiet.

A winter forest is also a wonderful place to spend some “quiet time”. The snow muffles all sounds. It is a time and place well suited to becoming lost in thought. And while it may not be practical to seek out a sound proof booth or to head out into the solitude of a snow silenced land, it is important for us to find times of quiet within our hearts, if not within our world.

It is at these moments when our ears become more attuned to the still, small voice of the Holy Spirit. How are we to hear His voice if we are submerged in the sounds of busyness and distraction. Sometimes I think it would be easier if, as they show in the cartoons, God spoke His advice to us in a thunderbolt. More direct and less likely to be missed. But I believe I serve a God that desires that we set aside the time and space necessary to listen for His guidance for our lives. Just as God sought to walk with Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden, in the cool of the day He seeks to spend peaceful and quiet time with each one of us.

God gifted us with the wonderful sense of hearing. With it we can appreciate the sounds of His creation and engage in communing with family and friends. And He also gifts us within silence when we focus on Him. Be sure to find time for both.

Wendy Squires is originally from Copetown and now lives in Bloomsburg with her husband Randy, son Stephen, and their dog Holly.

Contents for February, 2023

Daytime Campfire & Tobogganing
From Darrell's Desk
January Games Night
Another Spectator Night
Parenting for Faith
From Alex Forde
Youth Group Updates
The Treasurer's Report
Soup Recipe
A Message from CBOQ
Lessons in Greek
Opportunities for Everyone
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