Friday, January 24, 2014

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.

10 comments:

  1. Lovely post Martha. The wind is indeed like God's breath in filling our hearts, minds and souls with divine bliss. As powerful, capricious and strong as the wind may be, we are always dry and in a better place after the wind storm passes:) Even if we don't know why or how a gust of wind may blow over us and disrupt our lives, it always to bring us closer to God's glory.

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    1. Thank you so much for visiting, Vishnu!
      I so love your thoughts here - that the wind may disrupt our lives momentarily, but draws us closer to God at the same time. Beautiful take on this!
      Love and blessings!

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  2. Another lovely post full of meaning. I have never thought of the wind being the breath of God but it does make sense. It fills us up, it rocks our world,and some days it comforts. ♥

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    1. I'm so glad this post made you think differently about the wind, Kathy. Imagining it is the breath of God is something I love to do.
      Thanks so much for coming by!
      Love and blessings!

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  3. Martha, what a wonderful post. Thinking about wind (which there was A LOT of late Sunday early Monday in Iowa) as the Holy Spirit is nothing short of amazing. Empowering. Life giving.

    In reflecting on my walk with the Lord, it is the Holy Spirit who has empowered me to live a Christian life--the Word has come alive in a way that I had never before experienced.

    Great things happen when we truly let the Lord use us. We can experience what the early church experienced.

    Love and blessings,

    Kim

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    1. Thanks so much for coming by, Kim!
      It is the Holy Spirit, indeed, which guides us faithfully in our Christian walk. And, yes, such great things can happen when we allow the Lord to use us for His wonderful purposes.
      Love and blessings!

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  4. Martha this is a such a beautifully descriptive post! I could quite imagine you 'fighting the wind'. Oh yes, the mighty Holy Spirit can wreak havoc (of the good kind!) in our lives - if we would allow Him. This reminded me of the song...Spirit of God....Fill the earth, bring it to birth. And blow where you will. Blow, blow, blow till I be. But breath of the Spirit blowing in me!
    Great post, Martha - thank you!

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    1. Corinne, I'm not familiar with that song, but will certainly look it up. Sounds like one we could learn for church. :)
      So glad that you enjoyed this post and found it descriptive. That means so much to me, my friend!
      Love and blessings!

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  5. You're such a wonderful and inspiring writer dear friend. The wind has always been a symbol for the HS and it does blow where it wills... invisible and yet visible at the same time through the people it has affected. It transforms us...

    I pray with you, may we learn to put our trust in whatever the Lord does for us...may we allow the Holy Spirit to work within us.

    Amen+

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    1. Transforming us, redeeming us, guiding us, saving us . . . The Holy Spirit is one busy aspect of God's great love!
      Thank you, dear one, for your kind words and for visiting today. May we all look for the transformation which comes from the Holy Spirit every day!
      Love and blessings!

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