A Mighty Rushing Wind

John 3:8
"The wind blows wherever it pleases.  You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going.  So it is with everyone born of the Spirit."

The best days for drying clothes outside are the ones which are both sunny and windy.  With towels and sheets overdue for a washing, I am gratified to see today as a promising one, at least where sunshine is concerned.  There is hardly a breeze stirring in the morning and no certainty of wind to come.

"I sure hope the wind picks up today," I tell my husband, Danny, as I lug the mountain of laundry down the stairs to the washroom.

"Stay hopeful," he says.  "I think we have a good chance of it."

When the wash cycle ends, I retrieve the towels and sheets, bundle up against the cold, brisk air, and proceed to hang them on the line.  That's when I feel it.  The first gust of significant wind, bringing with it the expectation of more to follow.  Sure enough!  By the time I finish pinning the last sheet in its place, blustery blasts begin to pummel the wash.

Hard!

So hard, in fact, even the heavy towels are whipped and snapped and, at times, turned horizontally by forceful gusts.  And, the sheets?  Well, if the towels are tightrope walkers, the sheets are "that daring young man on the flying trapeze."  The wind wallops them every which way but loose!  And, when a clothesline spacer gets tossed to the ground, the sheets spin out of control.  They wrap up over the line, again and again, twisting it unmercifully.

It is such a tangle, I can't believe my eyes.  I attempt to pull on the line to bring the sheets in.  It won't budge!  Momentarily panicked, I have visions of having to cut the rope in order to salvage the laundry.  But, the thought of seeing Danny up on that tall, rickety ladder to hang another clothesline is enough to make me determined to haul this load in one way or another.

It takes some elbow grease and some gritting of teeth, but I finally manage to inch the line toward me.  Closer and closer come the sheets.  The first clothespin is within reach.  Got it!  Then another and another, and all the while, I'm battling the line and the wind to bring my sheets and pillowcases to safety.

Whew!

Fortunately, once the trapeze artists are off the line, it happily unravels itself and is usable again.  What a relief!

And, what a reminder:  "The wind blows wherever it pleases."  The wind . . . powerful, unpredictable, capricious.  Its strength should never be underestimated.  And, although we cannot see it, we can readily see the effect it has on every object it breathes upon.

"So it is with everyone born of the Spirit."  The breath of God, like a mighty rushing wind, fills our hearts, minds, and souls with His Holy Spirit when we accept Christ Jesus as our Lord and Savior.  Others may not see the "wind," but they will certainly see the effect it has on our lives.  We are changed.  We are new creatures.

We are born again in God's love and enabled to share His love with everyone we meet.

~

Will you share God's love with others today?

Prayer:  Father, we thank You today for the gift of Your Holy Spirit.  We pray for those who have yet to become believers that we might, by our words and examples, lead them to new life in Your Son, our Lord, Christ Jesus.  Amen.