Part II - You Feel the Wind

In recent weeks here in Massachusetts we've had some incredible windstorms. Golf ball sized hail fell in the suburbs around Boston, trees snapped like twigs in microbursts, and power lines came down right across the Mass Pike. In the middle of the hot summery stretch of August, we were suddenly hearing storm reports of damages and power outages numbering in the hundreds of thousands.

I sat in my back yard watching the tall pines that line the property. Usually, the trees nudge my thoughts to the natural grace and survivor skills the Lord vested in nature. They somehow stand through decades of icy winters and long hot droughts in summer. Without complaining, they endure, whispering peace and serenity as they wave their aromatic scent in the breeze. 

I love these trees! Don't you? The freshly oxygenated air they supply enriches me. I meditate on God’s provisions of sun and rain to nourish the green earth. We always water the garden and make sure the flowers have access to sun. But wind? I never think about it. 

In the wake of the storms, it suddenly occurred to me that wind is another essential element. Of course the Father knew exactly what he was doing when he set these currents to work and ordered them to cover the earth.

The air is constantly in motion. Nor’easters, and westerlies, southern currents and cold fronts--everything in constant flux. It really is a weatherman’s delight of swirling patterns and movement. Nothing stands still. 

Have you ever wondered why? We don’t just have air to breathe. It is sent on a mission.

Temperatures rise and fall and huge masses of air sweep across the nations. They disperse rainclouds across the land, deliver seeds, and blow the chaff and dying leaves away. The air blows over the seas and cools the land. As I reflected on what the wind does for a tree, I realized there’s even more to the story, but you have to peer beneath the surface.

I’m always admiring trees but I never think about the roots. Their visual brilliance obliterates a massive underground foundation supporting the entire tree. This network of limbs spreads out farther than the weighty upper branches. But how do they penetrate the many obstacles of granite ledges and centuries-old layers of hard packed earth?

Wind! The force of air against leaves and branches rocks the tree and tugs at the roots, loosening the soil and making necessary room for the roots to stretch and grow.  Growing space is created by this God-given force, which in extreme cases of hurricanes or tornados, threatens to topple the entire tree.  But the very gales that threaten to destroy it, actually make it stronger.

In the spiritual realm, we have seasons, too. The testing and trials of my life are God-sent to build a wider foundation and deepen my spiritual roots. My obstacles and pressures are creating some growing space to exercise my spiritual muscles and apply God’s Word. Wiggle room for my faith! 

If your life feels like a constant swirl of conflicting patterns and obstacles, if it seems they threaten to undo or destroy you (we have a cunning foe), don’t give up! Go deeper. It’s okay to wiggle!

You will be okay. Persevere gracefully like the swaying trees. 

We can accept trials of many kinds because they lead to spiritual strength and maturity.

James 1:2-4 

MY LIFE AS A SPAGHETTI NOODLE

I love spaghetti. When cooked right and flavored with sauce and cheeses, there’s nothing like it in the comfort food department.

It could be because the sweetest childhood memories of mom’s spaghetti and meatballs are fanned to flame. I can visualize every detail of the kitchen table and the smiling faces around it at a time when life seemed so Leave-it-to-Beaver perfect. 

I recall the sheer welcoming delight of coming home from school and smelling Italian food, thanking my lucky stars it wasn’t going to be sauerkraut or Brussels sprouts! I have Italian blood for goodness sake. Just give me pasta and cheese.     

In Italia, I learned to savor the best in the world. In fact, I discovered the prevailing national outlook in regards to culinary preferences when I asked why there were so few ethnic restaurants. “We’re Italian,” they said. “We do pasta and pizza. Who needs anything more?” And of course, they are the experts on spaghetti.

Spaghetti is interesting and fun. You can creatively dress it up or down. It can be your everyday sustenance or sheer gourmet delight. I discovered my favorite recipe living in Roma last year. It is spaghetti alla carbanara. Made with eggs and pancetta, so warm and satisfying, I’m quite sure that’s how it will be served in the celestial city.

But there's another take on this tasty dish to chew on...

A few years ago at the kick-off to a new Bible study, about 75 women were going around the room introducing ourselves by naming an object that somehow embodies who we are. A vehicle, appliance or tool might convey where we are in life or the many roles we perform. 

One woman said she was a blender, because she makes a lot of noise and mixes things up. Life is a whir of activity. Another chose a trusty broom, sweeping through the household, keeping life in order. An alarm clock, megaphone, taxi or punching bag are revealing visual images about how someone perceives themselves or the battles they’re waging!

When it was my turn I simply said, “I’m a spaghetti noodle.” But I wasn’t thinking of comfort food or culinary specialties at the time.

I had lost my husband after a terrible bout with brain cancer. I was afraid. I was broken. Life had changed drastically. I was merely thinking, my life is a mess and I can’t make sense of it.

I'm not at all like a sandwich with four neat corners, all trimmed and sliced, so very clear-cut. A sandwich has crisp edges, with all the contents arranged in neat layers. Sandwiches are so clean and tidy... Sandwiches make sense! 

Not so with spaghetti. Everything is so intricately intertwined and convoluted, you can’t trace the beginning or end of one single piece of it. That’s me!

I am multi-layered. I am backwards.

I am finished. I am starting over.

I am cooked! But I’m still warm.

I’m a mess!

But hopefully, there’s still something good. Something that will stick and fill and comfort the soul. 

Yes, Lord, I’m a mess but you delight in me! You are the expert, far above every Master chef, 
who can make my life a beautiful mess. 


Oh God, my Creator, you know me through and through, familiar with all my ways. You hem me in on all sides and nothing escapes your notice. Your strong hand upholds and sustains me and it is impossible to go where you cannot reach me. My very number of days was determined by your love before I was born, and you will lead me in the everlasting way forever!  Amen.  
(my pray-back from Psalm 139)

ADVENT!

My friend Scott spoke about Zechariah and Elizabeth Sunday morning. The story is found in the very beginning of Dr. Luke’s gospel and piqued my interest with a whole new perspective. Honestly, there’s no other book in the world like God’s Word! Even after 39 years of serious Bible study, there is always something new, like diving in the ocean. You can never exhaust the wealth and riches of it, and there is always some fantastic new treasure to be discovered.

After 400 silent years between Malachi and Matthew, all the years of waiting and praying for a child, the DIVINE STORY breaks back on stage. The curtain rises and we, the reading audience, come to the opening scene: the day Zechariah was chosen by lot to offer incense in the temple. Steeped in Jewish tradition and the laws of Moses, Scott pointed out that he was 1 out of about 18,000 priests on call. It probably felt like winning the lottery to have this opportunity to serve.

Let me insert a thought about that--a striking contrast to the AWESOME PRIVILEGE we have today! We are urged (at the end of Hebrews 4) to approach the throne of grace with confidence, since Christ’s death on the cross caused the temple veil to be rent in two from top to bottom. He opened the way for us to approach God freely at any time and call him Abba Father! Back in ‘the day’ however, you had to be selected to enter into the presence of God, in the holy of holies. They even had to tie a cord around his ankle in case he fell dead due to a misstep and had to be dragged out!

But getting back to the main stage of our story, the precise timing and hand of God in the details was evident when the old man stood before the altar and now his day got even better when an angel appeared and said, “Your prayers have been heard.” Wow! Who among us wouldn’t LOVE to have that happen? “Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John. He will be a joy and delight to you and many will rejoice because of his birth…”

It’s a great story, isn’t it? Don’t you love it when someone finally has a breakthrough and a dream is fulfilled? We often skim over the details of a familiar tale, but “well along in years,” they had probably carried an unfulfilled desire for a child for decades. For all we know, this couple was in their seventies or eighties, and had every reason to give up hope. Insert another cultural tidbit: Elizabeth’s barrenness was actually just cause for divorce in those days, but they stuck with it. They chose to stay the course, and both were called blameless in the sight of God.

God knows the desires of our hearts. We can’t change our circumstances, but it’s up to us what we do with them. We can shake our fist, blame the heavens and powers that be, or we can rest in the hands of a loving God and trust that He knows. That’s it! It’s not really very complicated. The God of the heavens understands and he has a plan for all this. It doesn't matter how long it takes. It doesn't really matter if I understand it all. His perfect will is well worth waiting for, and when He moves, it's going to blow your mind!

“For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.” (I Cor 13:12)

I hope that whatever you're going through today, you'll stay the course knowing, God understands. Say in your heart, Lord, give me the strength to endure the waits, and the wisdom to trust in your promises. Amen.