How I love your Temple, Lord Almighty!
How I want to be there!
I long to be in the Lord's Temple.
With my whole being I sing for joy to the living God.
Even the sparrows have built a nest,
and the swallows have their own home...
How happy are those who live in your Temple,
Always singing praise to you.
Psalm 84: 1 - 4, TEV
The other night, we hosted a dinner party. It was the perfect excuse not only to clean the house and cook a big meal, but also to get out the Halloween decorations and muse on the subject of the sounds of home.
All day long, I was listening to the sounds of the washing machine and the blender. I opened and closed the refrigerator and oven a dozen times apiece. The television provided background noise and company for the day's work.
That evening, with music in the background, the sounds of glasses clinking, silverware clanking, and a chorus of voices were the symphony of friends enjoying an evening together. Late in the evening, one person remarked, "It sounds just like Thanksgiving."
No single voice or single sound in my memory is particularly joyful in its own right. (Some people might consider a washing machine to be a particularly non-joyful noise, as a matter of fact.) But the pleasant blending of domestic sounds conjures home and family, comfort and joy. Like the sparrows in the nest described in the psalm above, we should celebrate and sing in joy for our own homes and family.
I had to laugh at the washing machine--I think it is a very joyful noise since my washing machine did not work for several days! I truly enjoy the joyful noise of the new machine!!
ReplyDeleteMary may enjoy the sound of her washing machine actually working, but since we've had a little plumbing done in the utility room, I get positively giddy at the sound of the water emptying from the washer and rushing quickly down the drain! No more flooding!
ReplyDeleteWhile the sounds of home are nice at times, modern society misses the silence I think. Too much TV, radio, etc., to allow us to engage in our own thoughts. We would be better off sometimes to talk to ourselves - or sing to ourselves even.
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