The Lesson of the Chimes

When traveling a few years ago I picked up a set of wind chimes from a local art store. I wasn’t particularly fond of chimes, but I just couldn’t avoid these. Literally. As I entered the store I turned somewhat abruptly and banged my head into them. They were big and made quite an impact. Again, literally. But the sound was amazing. They were perfectly tuned, and the vibrant sound filled the room as well as my soul. I was deeply moved.

I bought them without thinking about how much weight these heavy pipes would add to our already overflowing suitcases. I must admit, this is quite symptomatic for our traveling. I usually focus on how much a can fit into a suitcase (and that’s a lot!) My husband makes sure to weigh the suitcases. During our vacations, he does that a few times, re-organizing our stuff, before sighing and hanging his head in surrender. Then he gets online to order extra luggage.

The chimes are placed by our front door for decoration. Sometimes people confuse them with our regular door bell, and we usually let them ring the bells a few times before opening the door. Just because the sound is so beautiful. And, let’s be honest, because we can.

One evening I heard the bells chiming and I went out to see who had come to see us. No-one was there. There was no wind or movement that would explain the humming of the bells, so I closed the door and went back in. The bells kept on ringing beautifully, wrapping our quiet night in a symphony. Within a few hours the storm set in. The bells had picked up the vibrations of the upcoming storm and given us a warning. Even before we could sense the storm, the chimes encouraged us to be prepared for whatever was in store for us.

I started to think of these wind chimes as my teachers, my Corinthian bells of love. What if I could meet whatever storm I encountered with love? My instinct would be to put my guard up, to defend myself, or even to look for an alternative route. Of course, sometimes you need to do that. But I started to think of most upcoming storms as invitations to learn how to love.

Psychologists speak of aggression as expressions of pain. Inner pain finds its way out through anger, accusations and general aggrievement. Most of the time, there’s no need for me to defend myself against someone else’s expression of inner pain. I just have to love – tuning out the noise of the exterior behavior, and listening in to the real message of hurt. That’s what the Kingdom is all about, isn’t it? Seeing people as the Father sees them – as someone worthy of our love.

Loving does not mean allowing others to trample all over us and inflict grief. There’s a lot of love demonstrated in creating healthy boundaries and clear communication.

It’s easy to defend ourselves or to lash out with the same hostility that we have experienced. But looking beyond someone’s expression of pain, reaching out to the hurting heart, requires determination. It takes a wind chime of love, encountering the inevitable, upcoming storm, with the heart of the Father.

Make a decision to abandon fear. There will be storms coming your way. That’s OK. They are invitations to love fiercely, pray incessantly, grow infinitely, and bless extravagantly.

This is your year. Listen for the wind chimes. There’s a storm coming. You get to love.