Hark!

Hark!

 

My dad used to say that no one listens anymore.

It may have been the way he said it that got my attention.  

Wistfully.

As though a real gift was slipping past us.

Now that I'm a little older and wiser, I think I understand.

Right now, for instance, I hear people talking, television shows, music...

But I have to stop and pay attention to the sounds to be able to name them.  

Otherwise, they blend into the background 

as if they were one sound while I focus my attention other places.

Background noise.

What am I missing when I don't listen?

I have a lace bobbin that is painted with an inscription that says, 

"the first duty of love is to listen".

It is often a matter of choice, and too often I have made the wrong choice.

I'm trying.

There are still many times I could use a hark.
Something to grab my attention and help me focus on what I need to.

The word means stop what you are doing...and listen!

Stop where you are and put the value of your time on this thing instead!!

Because listening is closely linked to the value we place on a thing or person.  

 The opposite of Hark is ignore or tune out.  

Which is what happens if you don't hark.

So if I'm listening to this...
What does that mean I am tuning out?

Hark...

It is only to be expected that such a word shows up during Christmas celebrations.

A time that is full of busy.  

By the way...

What do you think an angel's voice sounds like?

I imagine if an angel spoke to you, you would have no problem listening!

And herald angels showing up on a midnight clear...
In a field where shepherds watched their flocks by night...
All seated on the ground?

That's  such a beautiful way to get somebody's attention!

When they appear like that... do their wings make noise?

There are so many sounds we associate with Christmas.

Sounds that bring joy to our heart just thinking of them.  

A newborn baby cries
His mother and father speak
Sounds of typical stable life
And a tired donkey 

Airport speakers announce the flight you are waiting for has arrived.

Joyful chatter as family gathers.

Clicking timers when the lights come on.

Carolers and children's choirs. 

Sleigh Bells and Jingle Bells,

and of course, Salvation Army bells!

Hark how the bells!

Our first Christmas in England was a White Christmas.

It was what I'd hoped for!

But there were a lot of things that made me feel more lonely than I expected.  

Little details that wore on me. 

Big details that left me with not so little worries. 

And to top it off, we were not getting a tree.

I tried other things, like drawing a tree on paper and hanging it on the wall, 

but truth be told, it just wasn't the same.  

So I took it down.

Yet celebrating Christmas still happened.

We still celebrated well.  

Still loved on people.  

Still did as many traditional things as we could.

...and it's one of my favorite Christmases of all time.

At some point early that morning, I opened our front door,

and was greeted with a very special kind of hark.

It was loud and clear and full of joy!  

I still remember how it lifted my spirits... 

and I stood there at the door for the longest time, just listening.

Someone,
 in an ancient old house of worship somewhere
was ringing the church bells!

Longfellow was at his best when he wrote, 

"Then pealed the bells more loud and deep; "God is not dead, nor doth He sleep..."

Bells ringing a message that could not be ignored or over looked!

A message that can't be quenched or erased!

Rejoice!  Good News!  Glad Tidings!

  

Christ has come!!

Hope! Joy! Peace!

Whatever you may be facing, don't let the hard steal your attention right now...

Hark the herald angels sing... Glory to the newborn king!!

Hear ye!  Hear ye!

God in a manger.  

Don't miss this.

******

We have a God who is moved by His love for us...

And He IS listening.

______________________________

The Coventry Cathedral Bells

This building was built in the 14th Century.
That's the same time that the word "hark" first was used!

The cathedral was bombed in WWII, but the bells still ring out!

______________________________

Casting Crowns 

singing

"I Heard the Bells On Christmas Day"