Sounds of life…

Today I settled in for my Sunday afternoon nap. I was a little concerned at first that my rest would not be so sweet due to all the commotion outside. Carson and Avery were out enjoying the 70 degree weather and had invited our backdoor neighbor children to join them. There was much laughing, yelling, running and screaming going on. But, I didn't really have the heart to stomp out, lean over the back of the deck and give the four of them the mean mommy face while they were clearly having such fun. So, I decided that instead of letting their loudness irritate me and ruin my nap that I would instead embrace it and let it be a soothing backdrop for my rest. And, that it was.

The breeze outside whipped around the house and the sunshine was streaming in through my bedroom windows. Their bursts of laughter intermingled with the chirping songs of little birds. The squeak, squeak of the swing kept time while the kids pushed each other and flew through the air. These are the sounds of life for me. Life in our hearts. Life in our home. Life in our relationships. The laughter reminded me that these are the sounds I live for. Sounds of joy. Sounds of sunny days. Sounds of enjoying life.

I thought back to what the sounds of life have been in the past for me. Sounds of music – can I get an AMEN for the 90's? Sounds of marching band. Sounds of my best friends' laughter. Sounds of the ocean on my first date with RWB. Sounds of "I DO" and "Mom, we're moving….again."

Sounds of babies – that all too familiar wha-wha-wha-wha-wha that sometimes went on for hours on end. Sounds of first words. Sounds of Dora and the Wiggles. Sounds of splashes and giggles in the bathtub. Sounds of "Happy Birthday To You." Sounds of first heartbeats and sounds of diapers filling up. Even though in their present perhaps unpleasant, they were always sounds of life.

I thought ahead to what the sounds of life might be in the future. Sounds of children reading. Sounds of inquisitive conversation. Sounds of backyard sports. Sounds of someone else starting the washing machine! J Sounds of cars starting and kids driving away. Sounds of the front door welcoming my college kids home for a holiday. Sounds of "I DO" and "Mom, we're moving…again." Even though in their present they will be perhaps heart wrenching, they will still be sounds of life.

Whether joyous or painful, funny or sad, worthy of praise or deserving of discipline, they are all sounds of life.

So, as I laid there today drifting in and out of sleep, I rested well under the sounds of my babes, reminiscing about sounds that have been and looking ahead to sounds that will be…..relishing the sounds that are now and thanking God for what life they bring to my heart.