It's in the Air!

Since we moved to the country, our view coming into our city is always the steam clouds roiling up from the refinery south of town. "The wind's in the north today," I remark when I see the plume is going in a southerly direction. Or, when the "smoke" is drifting north, I invariably announce that the wind is in the south. Sometimes we get an east wind, and the column leans to the west, or vice-versa.

My predictable, casual announcement is an almost unconscious observation, an idle tidbit punctuating the quiet atmosphere of the car as hubby concentrates on his driving. Yet it does offer a clue to the day's weather and temperature. Do I need this heavy coat, or would a jacket have been enough?

Thinking of the wind reminds me of the scripture in John 3:8, where Jesus says, "The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit."

Jesus is talking about the movement of the Holy Spirit. We cannot see the Holy Spirit, but we can see the effect of it in peoples' lives. We see the effects of the wind every day, from clouds, tornadoes, or just fallen leaves skittering along the streets and sidewalks. Sailboats are good examples of the effects of the wind as it carries them along, or not, if it stops blowing.

I once read of an experiment where scientists were going to make an artificial earth. They created a huge orb in their laboratory, managed to have oceans and land, and even trees. But the trees always died. They finally realized that the trees could not develop a good root system, because there was no wind! Earth's natural wind that blows and bends our trees causes the roots to grow deeper and more tenacious.

By the same token, the wind of the Holy Spirit strengthens Christians, helping us to stand strong in the face of adversity, putting our roots deep in our faith! Galatians 5:22-23 reads, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law." Where is your wind blowing today?