Managing during Winds of Change

While we were on vacation, my oldest son, Wes, decided to take a fishing boat out on the lake. The vessel had a little electric powered engine. He had an easy time getting out on the lake, but then the wind came up. Much as he tried to get back to dock, the boat didn't have enough power and he had no oars. We all had a good laugh watching the rescue operation as Scott rode in a kayak with two extra sets of oars tucked in it. (shown below) Then two of them rowed back in the boat with a kayak sticking up in the boat. The wind was strong enough to require the power of 2 men to get back to shore.
​Later, on the way home from visiting a quaint little town on Lake Superior, we had another wind encounter. This time, we hit the eastern front of a severe thunderstorm. In seconds, our little Prius was buffeted and pushed off the road. We couldn't see a thing. The closest way to describe it was a natural version of a drive through a car wash. But worse! We all survived and lived to marvel at the power of that storm.

Wind is like that. It caresses and it careens us. It soothes and it ravages. And yet, Jesus names the Holy Spirit as wind, breath, an invisible blowing force in our lives.

At Pentecost (Acts 2:2) the arrival of the Holy Spirit was described this way: And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. The whole house was filled. Not just the disciples and followers of Jesus. Everywhere was filled, even the back closet where the old linens had rested for months. The dust lifted and the world changed.
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I don't know what deep meaning we can pull from this. I only know that taming the wind is impossible. And taming the Spirit of God is also impossible. God's ways are better than ours, even in the howling midst of the storm. That is is enough. May we choose to believe that change is a part of the Spirit's work. May we trust.

-- Pastor Rebecca