Let the Wind Blow

As I write this morning I am sitting by my living room window listening to the wind blow.  The sun is not yet up, so I can’t see anything out there yet.  But I can hear the gusts every few seconds.  That sound makes me glad that I am spending most of my day indoors.  I’m not a big fan of wind. It stirs up my allergies and messes with my hairdo.  And somehow it never blows my leaves into my neighbor’s yard, but always blows his into mine.

I grew up in West Texas where they have real wind.  As a tennis player in high school, I had to learn to adjust my game for windy days.  Sometimes we played in wind so hard that we had to serve underhand.  And, depending on the direction of the wind, we could hit a high lob completely outside the fence and it would blow back onto the court before it landed.  On those days, it was not necessarily the best player who won.  The winner would likely be the person who best adjusted his game to the wind and used the wind to his advantage.

I don’t know much (really anything) about sailing, but I have heard that the best sailors know how to use the wind to their advantage.  Anybody can just let the wind propel them in whatever way it is blowing, but those who know how to properly trim their sails are able to keep moving toward their destination even in unfriendly winds.

We live in a windy world—and not just in the Spring.  Winds of change are blowing in the social, political, and religious realms and it seems as if they are gusting in a way that some significant changes may be on the horizon. And, at least from my perspective, some of those changes are not for the better. 

So what’s a person to do on these blustery days?  One option is to try to stop the wind.  Let me know how that works out for you. Or we can curse the wind.  There’s a lot of that going on, but I haven’t noticed it making much difference on the wind.  Of course we could always just concede and let the wind blow us where it will.  Some are choosing that option.  Still another option is to build a windbreak and hunker down and wait for it to blow over.  We’ve got a few that are trying that.

I’d like to suggest one more option.  Learn to use the wind like a good sailor.  Focus on the destination, trim the sails, batten down the hatches, tie the riggings (I’ve watched a lot of pirate movies). Learn to use the wind to make the most of today’s opportunities.  Our lives matter to the One who rides the wind (Psalm 104:3) and who can command the wind (Mark 4:41). He invites us to ride with Him, so let the wind blow.

I’ll adjust.