Hearing the bells.

A friend of mine recently published a book in which he describes going out for a run in his neighborhood. Bells at the local church were ringing the familiar tunes of his faith. As he continued to run, the sound of the bells and the tunes became more distant. Eventually, he could only hear the bells but no longer make out the tune, until he was too far to hear anything at all.

The story spoke vividly to me as I thought about living a spiritually connected life. I have been blessed to hear the sound of bells and know the excitement of recognize the melody, but I also know what its like to run away from such bells. Whether over time or in the course of a hectic day, it’s easy to find yourself no longer in range of the bells.

Like all good metaphors, this one awakens me. It’s not a call to change my entire life, for I feel blessed to be doing something I am called to do, but it does make me wonder if I am running toward or away from the bells. Do I hear them? Am I close enough to make out the melody? If not, I need to change my running route because I do not want to run without music ever again.

(Improving ouir accoustics for hearing the Gospel by Frank Dew and Jane Murden)