Part III - Ride the Wind

I keep writing about the wind because I need to stay focused on the power and presence of God while my life is in transition.  It's been remarkable to observe this simple but profound illustration that is physically present, all around us. I've been contemplating its silence, its unpredictability, its force, and of course, its illustration of the invisible yet omnipresent God I love.

Wind can be a gentle refreshing on a hot day, or it can snap giant trees in one frightful blast of hurricane strength. Wind takes different forms, from a breeze to a cyclone! Like Jesus, the first time he came as an infant, then riding on a humble donkey, but the next time he will come as a king, with a blast in the skies bringing judgment with his armies. A time for all things, from sweet mercy to severe judgment.

No wonder Jesus referred to the wind when he met a confused priest in the middle of the night and introduced him to heavenly things. (John 3) Wherever you are on the planet, wind  illustrates and reminds us of the all-powerful and gentle, the essential and life-giving Spirit of God who created it.

Yesterday afternoon as I sat on my favorite Adirondack chair in the yard chewing chicken stir-fry and mulling over a tangle of jumbled thoughts, a little white puffball floated down from the pines and hovered before my eyes. It was fairy-like, like Peter Pan’s Tinkerbell.

It was about an inch in size, perfectly rounded and whole, and strikingly silent and peaceful. It came down from the trees above me, danced right in my line of vision for about five seconds, then flitted off, obscured in the garden. I’ve never seen one like it, and God’s timing, as always, was impeccable. I wanted to take a picture but it was gone with a breath of air, leaving me to ponder the sweet sense of God’s smile peeking over the treetops at me.

I laughed out loud. Lord! You know my anxious thoughts and sent this sweet reminder of your presence. Thank you, Father!Oddly, there were no others to be found, though I watched for them. I had even been searching the web for such an image to illustrate the presence of the wind for previous posts. 

It strikes me as I’m recording this little episode, how God delights to surprise and uplift us. And how many times in my life that occurs when I am busy chasing thoughts around my scattered brain! It’s as though God himself is interrupting my mental ping pong to make a point. As if to say once again, “Karen, I’m still here. You are not alone. Rest in my presence.”

The Lord calls my attention to something fabulous, and liberating, and delightful. He brings pure JOY into a muddled moment. God’s presence, and the reminder of his omniscience over the details of my life, scatters every impulse to worry or fret, when I am doing just that!

Why bother to figure out my way since I have no power to complete it? It’s like wrestling with a map in foreign terrain, turning it this way and that, looking for street names and dinky numbers and you realize you are lost. Life can be so confusing!

Then, the Lord pulls up in a limo and says with a wink, “I’ll take you where you need to go. Hop in.”  This is the modern version of Matthew 11:28-30. It's an invitation to find rest for my soul by coming to him.

Rather than sitting in the driver’s seat and stressing over all the details, He’s at the wheel and invites you to ride shotgun as a travel companion, and enjoy the trip! Which would you rather do?

Choose to trust God. You can rest in the presence of the ever-present maker of the wind and let Him direct your path. Proverbs 3:5-6 says, "Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths." 

God, help me to remember that you’ve got it. You’ve got me. You’ve got the plan and the whole map in clear view.