A Few of my Favorite Things

My Favorite Things is a well known song from the famous musical The Sound of Music. Although it’s not a traditional Christmas song, it’s oftentimes played on the radio during the holiday season. When I heard it again the other day, it got me thinking about some of my favorite things. Now I’ve done this before in past years where I’ve focused on a list of a few comforting things in the midst of what can be a perplexing and challenging season.

 

For me, it’s also like standing with all my God-given senses at the crossroads and purposely choosing to take the way of gratitude and thanksgiving — rather than the path of obliviousness or the way of ingratitude.

 

The lyrics of the song My Favorite Things go like this:

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens,

Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens,

Brown paper packages tied up with strings,

These are a few of my favorite things.

 

Cream colored ponies and crisp apple strudels,

Doorbells and sleigh bells and schnitzel with noodles,

Wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings,

These are a few of my favorite things.

 

In The Sound of Music, Julie Andrews sings that those were some of the favorite things for the Von Trapp Family in the era immediately preceding World War ll.

 

I suffer from hearing loss, due in part to being around a lot of shooting throughout my life. As a result, in recent years, I’ve come to have a greater appreciation of hearing. So in my musing, I decided to focus specifically on a few of my favorite sounds:

 

Crackle of a glowing campfire on a starry night,

Tree Frogs and Spring Peepers chirping,

Bullfrogs croaking on a summer night,

These are a few of my favorite sounds.

 

Burble of a running brook,

Slurp of a rising trout and splash of a hooked rainbow,

Songs from my reel’s drag against a running fish,

These are few of my favorite sounds.

 

Screaming bugle of a bull elk during the rut,

Mews and chirps of cow elk nearby,

Whispered twang of my bow when the arrow is loosed,

These are a few of my favorite sounds.

 

Howl of a hound breaking the morning silence as he strikes a cougar’s track in the mountain snow,

Chaotic, but intense baying of excited hounds at a treed cougar,

The growls of a nearby enraged treed cougar as I stare into its piercing eyes,

These are a few of my favorite sounds.

 

The “who-cooks-for-you; who-cooks-for-you-all” hoot of an owl just before dawn,

The springtime gobble of a long-bearded wild turkey telling the hens where he’s at,

The drumming and spitting sounds of a strutting gobbler,

These are a few of my favorite sounds.

 

The infectious giggle of a happy toddler,

The voice of one of my children or grandchildren over the phone,

The still small voice of God during my early morning quiet time,

These are a few of my favorite sounds.

 

Writer C.S. Lewis who was an erstwhile atheist who converted to Christianity and quickly became a renowned follower of Christ and defender of the faith once said, “We may ignore, but we can nowhere evade the presence of God. The world is crowded with Him. He walks everywhere incognito.”

 

It doesn’t take a CSI team (Crime Scene Investigator) to deduce that many of my favorite sounds indicate my love of adventure and of the outdoors. At times, the challenge for me is to appreciate my favorite things, but to never stop giving thanks for them. While enjoying my favorite things, I want to be a GSI (God Scene Investigator). In that way, I remain in awe of the Creator and Redeemer—and not simply in awe of His glorious creation. My intention is to worship The Creator and not the creation.

 

I was wondering what are some of your favorite things — sights, sounds, smells or tastes. What do you think they say about you? Be honest; do you ever find yourself worshiping the creation rather than The Creator?