Wonderful as defined by Webster is a feeling aroused by something that is unexpected, marvelous and excellent; an event or thing which causes astonishment, admiration and wonder. A once popular band leader was well known for his utterance of the words “Wonderful, Wonderful.” My previous wonderful, wonderful vanished following the onset of my hearing loss which has progressed from mild to severe. A new wonderful for which I had to search relentlessly, did not come easily. In contrast to my home environment which is quiet to a fault, I found my new wonderful, wonderful at the seaside.
I also love the mountains where the soaring height gives me the sensation of a closeness to the face of God through time and space, which is more awesome than at the usual level of earthiness. But the mountains are too silent for me. Their quietness falls silent on my non-hearing ears. I do not hear their voices.
But the sea — well, that is a facet of nature that is unexplainable in normal terms. Through my hearing loss, I gained a special fondness for the sea. Nothing is more awesome than a thunder storm over the waters. Each strike of lightening is like the handwriting of God. Each thunder clap is like His powerful voice, as they remind me of His majesty and my smallness on this speck of dust called Earth. It is at the seaside that I hear best. I like the sea because of its noise. The sea is noise that I can hear. I cannot hear all noise, but I can hear the sea. I hear its thunderous roar. I hear its quietness. I hear its silence. I hear its gentle lapping at the shore. The sea speaks wonderfully to me in silence and in sound.
The sea opens my closed ears to the wonders of the years of quietness that have caused me to forget. At sea-side, I can allow myself to become engulfed in the magnitude of God’s greatness, yes, even His love at a more human, understandable level. At that nexus and plexus where the incoming Atlantic waves have dwindled and eternally kiss the sandy beach, I walk along this meeting place of solitude with the waters playing tag with my toes. I listen to its silence. I listen to its sounds. This is my wonderful, wonderful. My wonderful silence. My wonderful sounds.
by Virginia M.
