For Christmas, my best friend got me a beautiful windchime. Now, I’m picky about the sounds windchimes make. I’ve been searching for years, but I never bought one for myself because when I would find the right tones in a windchime, I could not bring myself to actually buy it.
I think now that maybe it was the thrill of the hunt, or that I just could not commit because my standards for something as inconsequential as a windchime were a little high.
So, I opened the box on Christmas from my bestie and lo and behold, there it was, the windchime. I had to hold back tears to not look completely ridiculous crying over it.
When I got home, the first thing I did was unpack it from its box and hang it on my porch. As I write this, I am listening to the most beautiful sounds and tones. It is perfect.
So I have to ponder at this point, what makes it perfect?
The Bible says many things about gifts. James 1:17 says that “every good and perfect gift comes from above,” and 2 Corinthians 9:7 tells us “God loves and cheerful giver.”
The Bible does not say anything about a windchime … go figure.
The Bible does have a great deal to say about wind. My favorite comes from John 3:8: “The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so it is with everyone born in the spirit.”
Of course there’s also that verse on noise. Psalm 100 that tells us to “make a joyful noise.”
In the end, I think what made this windchime on my porch so perfect is that it came from a friend.
In its tones and songs, I can hear the wind as it sings to me, as it relaxes my mind and calms my soul.
We have come out of Christmas and come into the New Year. We have made our resolutions, and possibly even broken them by now, but usually what we all hope for the most in the coming of the new year is quite simply, change.
We as humans tend to resist change, but when the New Year comes we long for it … a change to finances or to eating habits, or just habits in general. We make promises to ourselves about the kinds of things we want to change.
Sometimes those changes we long for cause more pain and hardship than we bargained for, or are not what we wanted at all.
As this New Year envelops us and holds us, I pray you remember the lesson of my windchime. Its perfection lies in the fact that is was given to me, received from a friend and not something I acquired for myself.
As the wind blows us to and fro and changes us in some way, may we make the most beautiful of sounds as it does.
The Rev. Charissa Ramey is pastor of Nameless Creek Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). This weekly column is written by local clergy members.
