Carl has been screeching for some reason for the last couple of minutes. It may be that he wants my attention or that he wants to be fed. But for whatever reason, his familiar voice can be clearly heard by everyone in proximity of our home.
Everyone who lives close to us, knows this voice. Whenever he pitches up, I am sure they say, “That has to be Carl.”
We all have a distinct voice if you think about it. Each of us have a different sound that comes out when we speak. Some of us can be identified as soon as we open our mouths, while others may not be as easily recognized.
Joe, my deceased father-in-law, has one of those distinct voices that could be clearly identified, even after two years of his departure from this earth. So when my sister-in-law placed her phone up to my ear and let me hear a message from the past, I knew without a doubt that it was him.
It was after listening to him ramble about the need for toothpaste and how if he didn’t get it, he would have to retreat to soap, that I began to laugh at the memories of his final days. I was surprised at the inward feelings that arose from hearing his familiar voice. Emotions spurred by the events that took place between he and I. Some fond and some downright draining.
I was startled by the uprising of sentiment from hearing his voice. Startled that after so many months that my heart still hurt for this man that was such an important part of my life.
But if I was emotionally stirred when hearing my father-in-law’s voice, I can’t imagine how the disciples must have felt when they heard the voice of Jesus, days after he had died on the cross.
The voice that they had heard on the mountainside as He preached the words to the multitudes. The voice that they knew when He reached out to the lepers and spoke the words, “ I am willing, be clean.” Matthew 8:3.
His disciples must have also been moved when He looked deep into their eyes and pulled off a piece of bread from the loaf and stated, “Take, eat, this is my body.” Matthew 26:26.
But as moving as all of these times were, it must have been when they heard his voice after the resurrection that consumed them with emotion. A heart throbbing emotion that would take them to their knees and place a motivation in their hearts to follow Him into eternity.
It is this voice that I want to hear one day. The voice the disciples heard so many years ago. The voice that Paul heard on the road to Damascus. But most important to us, the voice that will say when we see Him in heaven, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
Carl’s screeching voice has penetrated through my thoughts and has brought me back to the here and now. And as painstaking as it is to hear, I can’t help but smile and thank God for this little dog’s voice along with the voices of the past, present and future.