Tree Cutting On My Walk

I never wear ear buds.
I don’t even own a pair.
I don’t think I would like the feel of them in my ears.
More than that, I don’t want to miss the sounds all around me.

When I walk each morning, I carry my phone with me.
I pull out the pop socket and get a good grip, so it can record my steps.
I turn on a Bible study podcast that I listen to each morning.
I follow that with a short podcast of daily news.

I keep the volume low so I can still hear the sounds all around me.
The volume is loud enough so I am able to hear everything clearly.
It is a great way to start my day.
When each of those podcasts are done, I often listen to the Bible on Audible, or just pray.

Even though, I am purposefully listening to something, I can still hear the sounds around me.
I am hearing the birdsong, which means spring is around the corner.
I can hear the friendly, Beep, Beep as a neighbor passes by.
I can hear an approaching car, or trash truck as it comes down the street.

This day, there was tree cutting happening on my walk.
I heard it as I was going up the hill towards the cul-de-sac.
I heard it as I rounded the cul-de-sac and started down the hill.
I knew that when I turned towards home, I would see the trucks and equipment.

Sure enough, there they were!
The two men I saw were wearing ear protection.
I had nothing to protect my ears.
I was cautious as I passed, trying to walk faster when I got close to them.

It was loud.
I could not imagine doing that work without ear protection.
I could not imagine hearing that in the warmer weather with the windows open.
I saw the men using hand signals to communicate with each other.

The hood on my coat would not protect me.
I brought my phone close to my ear so I could concentrate on the voice, rather than the sound.
The sound was actually painful to hear.
It was quite loud, with no respite until I was further down the street.

Protect my ears, Father, I prayed as I walked.
I remembered a question my son asked me once many years ago.
What would you rather be: blind or deaf!
When I looked astonished at his question, he said, You have to answer, Mom.

I thought about it for a moment and rather quickly answered, Blind.
I can’t imagine not hearing things, I continued.
His answer was the same, which made sense because he loves music so much.
He plays drums and guitar and has music surrounding him all throughout his day.

I think he and I were the only two in our family who answered the way we did.
Everyone had their reasons for not wanting to be blind.
We understood all those reasons.
However, not being able to hear would be terrible for both of us.

I am a very auditory person.
I do not forget anything I hear.
I remember nuances of stories when I meet someone new.
I am able to ask them about the things they said when we meet again.

O be careful little ears what you hear
O be careful little ears what you hear
For the Father up above
Is looking down in love
So, be careful little ears what you hear

I thought of the song.
Be careful is repeated in each verse.
Eyes, ears, tongue, hands, feet, heart, and mind are all sung about in the song.
Be careful is the admonition in each verse.

I thought of my prayer: Protect my ears, Father.
I was praying for protection from the loud sound of tree cutting as I walked.
But as I thought about it later I was praying for so much more.
Protect my ears from gossip, lies, graphic stories on the news, complaining, and bitterness.

I prayed that prayer for my children and my grandchildren.
Be careful little eyes, ears, tongue, hands, feet, heart, and mind.
No matter how old we are, we need to be careful.
God tells us in His Word: Therefore, consider carefully how you listen. (Luke 8:18)

If we are to protect ourselves from things that may harm us, what are we to think about?

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. (Philippians 4:8)

God tells us what we are to be careful of, and tells us what things we should ponder.
Protect my ears, Father, and my eyes, tongue, hands, feet, and mind.
What a wonderful lesson.
All because of some tree cutting on my walk.