Hearing Voices

One of the time honored traditions for moms of missionaries is that the missionary gets to call home twice a year, on Christmas and Mother's Day.

A lesser known part of this is that some missionaries get to do a "pre-call" where they call at a random time to arrange the time for the real call. I had never heard of this before.

One day in December I was talking with a co-worker when my cell phone rang. I looked at the caller ID and it showed a call from Kentucky not knowing anyone in Kentucky I hit the ignore option and continued my conversation. A minute later the phone rang again and my friend said "I guess Kentucky really wants to talk to you. I answered the phone with a tentative "Hello..." expecting some telemarketer or something. Then I heard one of the greatest sounds I could imagine "Hi Mom!" It was James, my missionary son, doing a surprise pre-call! It was almost bouncing with excitement. Exclaiming over and over "I just love hearing your voice."

I got another pre-call the Friday before Mother's Day. It was short, but again it was so wonderful to hear his voice that it made my day.

Sounds are all around us. The hum of the computer, the whisper of the fan blowing the air that is either heated or cooled to a comfortable temperature, the rhythmic beating of rain on the roof and pavement, music, birds chirping, leaves crunching in the fall, laughter and so much more. The sense of sound is such an amazing gift!

One of the best sounds we can hear is the sound of a loved one's voice. Memories linger, photos capture frozen images of moments in our lives, but voices seem to fade which is sad.

After Katelyn passed away Michael made a tribute video of her to give to her mother, Patsy. I was fortunate enough to go with him to deliver it. Patsy watched with smiles and tears. Part of the video was of Kat talking for a few seconds before bursting into her wonderful infectious laughter. More than once we saw and heard Kat saying a few words then laughing.

When the video was finished. Patsy looked at Michael and said "Thank you for giving me her voice. I have lots of pictures, but now I have her voice"

We listen to many voices each day, but how often do we stop to think how precious those voices are to us?

Just as we can easily recognize and identify people by their faces, we also can identify a voice, especially of someone we love. The sound of one of those voices can make our day.

I am waiting with eager anticipation to get to hear my wonderful missionary son's voice tomorrow. Music to my ears.