Mark Katrick faith column: In fall's silence, when sounds carry, listen for God's direction

This is the time of year when people notice that sounds are really carrying. I’ve always wondered the reason for this and did a little research.

Ashley Hamer, on Discovery.com, writes: “On a cold day, there tends to be a layer of warmer air above the cold pockets … (and) the wave bends away from the warm air and back toward the ground.” One of my first recollections of this meteorological concept was waiting for the school bus to turn the corner. Mom no longer had to watch for it. I could already hear it.

When I hired on for my first job as a part-time sports reporter, I’d roll down my window to listen for high school bands practicing. It helped me locate football fields tucked away in the cornfields. It was my direction-finder before drivers started using them (except for that fellow at the gas station who knew every state, county and dirt road and where they intersect).

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People seem to be in such a hurry to get anywhere these days. Trying to search for landmarks and road signs with your own eyes slows you down in a natural sort of way. You don’t want to get lost on the country road that is supposed to “take you home,” or so sings John Denver. And when you try to turn around out there in the middle of nowhere, it even gets you more lost.

Rolling down my window means September songs on my satellite radio are competed with by trains sounding their horns at crossings or trucks beep, beep, beeping to make deliveries or pick up recyclables.

In case you haven’t noticed by now, I’m not exactly Bill Nye the Science Guy. But I can use science (like how sound travels) to explain religion. (Just for the record, God created both of these, and they are highly compatible.)

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In any season of our lives, if we want to hear God better, and seek God’s directions more clearly, all you and I have to do is search for heavenly air — the layers of warmth above the cold pockets here on earth.

Do this by creating sacred space; three comfy chairs, one each for God, you and a friend; light a candle or turn on one of those really cool electric candles they have these days, and turn off the noise.

Then listen for the band to strike up the chorus or for the train making its way through the night. If you pay close attention, rising above it will be the “still small voice” (1 Kings 19:12-13) and the same loud whisper that the prophet Elijah heard with an important message just for you.

Mark Katrick is a pastor and spiritual guide.

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Mark Katrick faith column: In fall's silence, listen for God's direction