Traveling Sound

Last week Hubby and I were visiting his mother in Florida, where we watched a bit of the nearby airshow for free from her front yard.

I love to hear the powerful fighter jet engines as they thunder overhead. Here’s a video I captured. (Tip: if you’re not going to have the volume turned up, there’s no sense in watching the tiny speck hurtling through the sky!)

What does this post have to do with Day 2 of Creation? Let me share my thoughts, and then let me know what you think!

Here’s a recap of Day 2:

Then God said, “Let there be a space between the waters, to separate the waters of the heavens from the waters of the earth.” And that is what happened. God made this space to separate the waters of the earth from the waters of the heavens. God called the space “sky.”

And evening passed and morning came, marking the second day.

Genesis 1:6-8 NLT

Another mighty sound I love to hear is rumbling thunder. I’ve got to believe thunder and lightning began on Day 2 with the beginning of the clouds above!

Was there air around the earth before this? I don’t know. Did the water above help create an atmosphere that didn’t exist before? I don’t know.

But this seems to be a good time to talk about sound waves, since they need a medium to travel through such as air or water.

Traveling Sound

How does sound travel? An initial disturbance vibrates particles in a solid, liquid or gas, which then collide with other particles, passing that vibration farther and farther away from the initial disturbance. That’s how it passes through gases and liquids, anyway.

Solids are a different matter altogether, since their particles are locked in place. Sound moves through solids using phonons, which move even faster than the molecules that carry sound through gas or liquid.

Are You Causing Collisions?

I’m not talking about traffic accidents! We have an effect on people around us, just like sound waves start with an initial disturbance that affects nearby particles and sets them buzzing.

One way we do this is by the sounds we make–through words, songs we sing or hum, or even non-verbal huffs and harumphs!

Here are sounds to strive for as we consider the effect we have on others:

Praising God: “Therefore, let us offer through Jesus a continual sacrifice of praise to God, proclaiming our allegiance to his name” (Hebrews 13:15).

Thanking God: “And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Ephesians 5:20).

Encouraging one another: “So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing” (1 Thessalonians 5:11).

Graceful speech: “Live wisely among those who are not believers, and make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be gracious and attractive so that you will have the right response for everyone” (Colossians 4:5-6).

Singing: “Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts (Ephesians 5:18b-19).

Something to think about

Instead of “How’s your thought life?”, today I ask you, “How’s your sound life?”

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This post is part of the “Sky” segment of my 2023 Creation series, where my plan is to write about each day of creation for two months. Follow along to see where this series takes us!