What the Whales Remembered

— a Glimpse of Wonder entry™ —

There’s a sound most of us will never hear — a note so deep it hums through the bones of the sea. It’s the voice of the humpback whale, carrying across miles of open water. For generations, that language of moans and melodies has been muffled under the constant growl of ship engines. The ocean had become a crowded room where everyone was shouting.

Then, the world stopped moving.

Cargo ships waited at anchor. Ferries rested in their harbors. For the first time in living memory, the sea fell into something close to silence. And in that quiet, the whales began to sing again.

Scientists who listened through underwater microphones noticed that the songs had changed. The notes slowed down. The melodies softened. It was as if the whales were remembering how the ocean once sounded — before the noise. Before we filled every space with our engines.

I was struck by one account — a mother whale could now venture out to hunt, confident she’d still hear her calf’s voice across the quiet sea. It reminded me how peace makes relationship possible, whether under water or under our own roof.

Maybe that’s exactly what happened. Maybe creation itself remembers. The apostle Paul wrote that “all creation keeps on groaning together.” (Romans 8:22, NWT) But even in its groaning, it sings.

That year of hush gave both whales and humans a taste of restoration — a reminder that peace still exists beneath the clamor, waiting for us to notice. When the world grows quiet, we remember too — the gentler voices, the deeper connections, and the One who made them all.

Tags:

whales, ocean, stillness, creation, restoration, awe, worship