Wind Chimes




There’s something quite magical about the sound of wind chimes. Maybe it’s the way their music reverberates in the air, seeming to come from everywhere and nowhere on a breezy day. I’ve had a fascination for their tones since childhood. My mother had a small wind chime that hung in the kitchen window… the top of it was shaped like a small silver pagoda’s roof, and the tiny bells made the most delightful sounds when the breeze would blow softly in.

When I was in my early 20’s I became enchanted by some chimes in a gift shop on Park Avenue in Winter Park. Almost 3 feet tall, they had a rich, warm tone that was incredibly soothing to me. They were $50.00, and we were newly married with a very limited income. I begged my husband to buy them for me as a Christmas gift, and was thrilled to find he’d done just that when December rolled around. They’ve been hanging in our yard wherever we’ve lived for 28 years.

In 1999 our youngest son Jesse passed away when he was just short of 4 years old and was laid to rest in a cemetery in Winter Park under the shade of an old water oak. It’s really a beautiful spot, and over the years I have often gone there to sit, cry, pray, and remember. A few weeks after his funeral I went to mourn by myself for a while. The breeze was gently blowing and I could hear bells… wind chimes. Someone had hung a fine set of chimes in the tree over his grave. It was beautiful… and somehow comforting to me. Each time I would go back to visit, I would hope that there might be a breeze so that I could hear them.

I told a few friends about the bells and soon I began receiving wind chimes as gifts. I think we have 10 of them now, all hung about the yard in various places. They’re all different sizes and each has a unique sound. Some are melodious, some haunting, some light and airy, and one made of bamboo that kind of clunks. I love them all. They speak to my spirit.

You see, each time they ring, I’m reminded of God’s kindness and mercy. He loves me enough to comfort me in my sorrow in ways that are perfect for me. He reminds me of beauty in the midst of pain, sorrow, and loss. He kisses me with the sound.