Blown Away

As I turned over the calendar page to October, God closed the door on summer and its balmy breezes.  Gray, blustery days sent wet leaves through the air.  Will there be any left on the trees for autumn color?  We sleep with all the windows closed for the first time since early spring.  I do miss the sound of birds.  But they are scrambling, too, feasting at the feeders as they prepare for migration.  I’ve already heard complaints about the chilling air.  There are some people who are never pleased with the weather -- too hot, too cold, too wet or too dry!  I try to remember that what may be inconvenient to me is just what’s needed somewhere else.  On our trip to Tarifa, Spain, we passed acres and acres of wind turbines taking advantage of the constant strong winds along the coast in order to provide power to millions.

These seasonal breezes mean different things to many people.  To a sailor, it can mean a lovely tour around the lake.  But the same breezes could become an obstacle to him on his return to the marina.  The same brisk wind could distress a farmer in dry times as he watches his topsoil picked up and carried away.  On the other hand, a youngster cheers the wind with a shout when it lifts up his kite, bearing it aloft.  His mother smiles to see her sheets snapping in the breeze.  She anticipates the pleasure of fresh beds tonight.

Through scripture, God sometimes uses the wind to teach us life lessons.  We might be responsible for our unanswered prayers due to our ambivalence:

If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.   But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.  James 1:5-6 

But in the book of Job, God reminds us that His decisions concerning weather are motivated by our need for correction or the needs of the earth or to show His lovingkindness to man:

Job 37:13  "Whether for correction, or for His world, Or for lovingkindness, He causes it to happen.  (NASB)

Next time, instead of complaining about the weather, let’s remember it as a sign of God’s constant care and watchfulness because:

He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.  Matthew 5:45.

Love as always, Elaine (rather windblown)