Blow the Wind Southerly, Early One Morning and the Water Is Wide -
Dan Gibson's Solitudes
(Please click for background music as you read this message of H.I.M.)
It was one of my very first big screen movies I saw when I was a young girl, “The Sound of Music”. Oh, how I loved every moment of that story. It made me laugh, it made me cry, it made me sad, it made me smile. Most of all, however, it made me fall in love, not just with Julie Andrews, aka “Maria,” but with the sound of music!
It has been called the world’s “universal language.” Without exchanging a word, music crosses all boundaries among all cultures in our world. It releases the emotions in our heart to massaging our soul, while relaxing one’s mind of its troubles and woes. Think for a moment, the gentle, melodious chords of the harp’s timbre, the soulful, soft mellow sounds of a cello, or the elegant, soothing, velvety chords of the piano playing one of your favourite tunes. For me, as an example, it is “Somewhere in Time” played magnificently by Maksim Mrvica on a beautiful grand piano surrounded by nature or the amazing rendition of “The Mission/How Great Thou Art” by the extremely talented Piano Guys.
And so, as I wake up to another spring morning to the joyful choir of the robins, red-winged black birds, mourning dove and orioles, to name just a few, I cannot help but thank God for the sounds of His music through nature. Though “weeping may endure for a night, joy comes in the morning” (Psalm 30:5). Regardless of the road we travel, the sorrows that may come our way, there is reason to be joyful and be grateful for the benefits God gives us each and every day through the gift of nature’s music.
The older I become, the more connected I am to the sounds of nature; whether it be the sounds of a trickling stream, cascades of a waterfall, the lake’s crashing waves hitting the shore, a gentle spring rain, or sounds of the mighty wind swirling and twirling through the trees, and oh so much more. The sounds of nature spread far and wide, yet God’s hands are in all as He walks with us side-by-side. It gives me peace, it gives me serenity and it gives me tranquility.
I once read, “Music is as important to humankind as it is for the birds” (Anonymous). Since their arrival back into our area just a couple of weeks ago, I am thrilled to wake up and see the beautiful sight of the gorgeous oriole perched on our front porch, while he eats to his little heart’s content the freshly cut orange slices we have put out there for him every morning. How handsome he is dressed in his brilliant orange-golden underbelly and shoulder patches with his black head and black wings that have bars of white. When not eating, we will often hear him serenade us with his loud, flutey whistle or chattering to his mate. Carefully observing this little fellow, reminds me of how grateful I am for what God does for me every single morning when He “daily loads us with His benefits” (Psalm 68:19).
God knows our needs and always provides us with just the right amount of nourishment, strength and hope to get us through each day. We only need to look up towards Him and give Him the glory and praise; otherwise, on our own we will only flit from hither to yon in the hopes of finding our daily needs on our own without any satisfaction. With God, however, no left-overs from yesterday or dipping into tomorrow’s portion, but enough of His portions are provided just for today. As I look around at the signs and sounds of nature, I marvel at the beauty He has given us in any given day from sunrise to sunset. For it is the sound of nature’s divine music that heals and uplifts one’s heart and inspires the most troubled soul. It is through the nature of music that one is drawn closer to God through the many blessings He bestows upon us each and every day. Without question, it is indispensable how the gift of nature’s music is part of one’s journey to healing the body, the mind and the soul.
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“I tell you truly, when we
are born, we enter the world
with the sound of God in our ears,
even the
singing of the vast chorus of the sky,
and the holy chant of the stars in their
fixed rounds;
it is the Holy Stream of Sound.”
Edmond Bordeaux Szekely
(translation of the Essene Gospel of Peace)
(1900-1979)
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