For a short period of time we lived in a small town in the Carolinas, and there was a church on almost every corner. It was wonderful listening to the bells ring at noon each day, and they became very welcome and anticipated.
One time when our first born grandchild was visiting, he and I shared something that I will never forget. This grandson was not quite two, but he had two distinct things that he was drawn to whenever he would visit. When he heard the whistle blow from the train as it went through town it would delight him, and then there were the bells.
On one particular visit he and I went to each church in town so that he could stand and listen to the bells. Seeing this small child standing very still in the foreground of these towering buildings, listening intently to the bells, was very moving. This young man is eleven years old now, but that memory remains very fresh in my mind.
There is an old song about the bells on Christmas Day that we hear each year. We sing along to this and the other songs, both old and new, that make us feel good. They bring peace and comfort that is often wrapped up in nostalgia. For me, I have those memories of my grandson and I enjoying the bells. We were being called to the places of worship that stand as a reminder that we are people of faith. The perceivable peace that we experience at Christmas is one which we experience all year as believers, for we are people who love Jesus!
Zechariah 14:20 CSB On that day, the words HOLY TO THE LORD will be on the bells of the horses. The pots in the house of the Lord will be like the sprinkling basins before the altar.