Wind

Just as you cannot understand the path of the wind or the mystery of a tiny baby growing in its mother's womb, so you cannot understand the activity of God, who does all things.
Ecclesiastes 11:5 NLT

This verse popped up on my News Feed the morning after I'd been up late praying for wisdom and guidance about a work thing. It really spoke to me and this situation because of how unexpected my considerations were. I love little encouragements like that. I really love Ecclesiastes for some reason, especially chapter eleven. I even posted with the title chasing the wind (Ecc 6:9 although I don't know why I titled that post that way) back when I didn't really blog much. I think I just love how existential Ecclesiastes can be.

The verse also got me thinking about wind.

Wind used to be something I rarely thought about. Maybe it crossed my mind when it rained sideways. Or when I was driving across the state and got out of the car to get gas in Ellensburg... the wind about knocking me over... but that was about it.



Wind is interesting. It's a nice example of faith: you can't see it but you can feel it and can watch the effects of it. Of course, there's nothing like a slight breeze on a nice day or a cool breeze on a hot day. Just like the Spirit in our lives is an unseen force that can provide gentle peace or cool relief.

Wind is also used in other metaphors like: 'the winds of adversity', 'the winds of change', 'winds of destruction', 'punishing winds' and 'roaring wind'. I could go on but you get the idea. For something that can't be seen, it is certainly used frequently to paint a word picture.

Wind is now part of my everyday life. My 70+ mile commute is often spent dodging sagebrush and firmly grasping the steering wheel to keep my car in my lane.

On really windy days the DOT changes the electronic reader boards to say: "MOBILE HOME MOVEMENT RESTRICTION ON HWY 82 BETWEEN EXITS X AND Y" It's so funny to me, and a little sad, that this is what really quantifies a windy day.

It's sort of an inside joke with myself that, "you know it's a windy day in Tri-Cities when they restrict mobile home movement on 82." It's probably only funny to me and the five other commuters and truckers that drive this rural highway every weekday, but I chuckle every time I see the sign and think to myself... just how many mobile homes are we moving around here that it warrants dedicated use of the signs!?

One of my favorite memories of first moving to Tri-Cities, (probably my favorite memory because it was the first time I had a good laugh about moving there) involves wind. My brother is still traumatized by the wind storm that convinced him this wasn't the greatest place on Earth (that story here).

Now the wind doesn't drive me nuts like it did when I first moved here. I'm used to the fact that it's just always windy. The worst part about the wind now is when I have to pump my own gas. Usually that only happens when I am running late (of course) and was having a perfect hair day. The absolute worst wind experience I'll never repeat (a third time) is the time I stood downwind of the gas nozzle as I was taking it out of the car. You know how it usually drips once or twice.. well if it's windy, it flies straight onto your clothes. So now you smell like gas for the hour and fifteen minute drive to work. Yes, this is why I ALWAYS try to get gas in Oregon, where they pump it for you.

I'd definitely rather have rain than wind but usually wind brings clouds, which is a plus. I guess that's why we need wind actually. To keep the clouds moving in from the ocean. It certainly isn't to 'clean the earth' like some people say. That's just erosion. I also wonder, where do all those sage brush end up!? I've seen that many of them get caught in fences, but what about the rest. Where to they stop!? I'll let you know if I ever find out.

Life can feel futile sometimes, like 'chasing the wind,' but like the weather that is just a season of life. When I was in my senior year of college this was my favorite verse to pass on to freshmen:

Young man, it's wonderful to be young! Enjoy every minute of it. Do everything you want to do; take it all in. But remember that you must give an account to God for everything you do. So banish grief and pain, but remember that youth, with a whole life before it, still faces the threat of meaninglessness. Ecc. 11:9-10 NLT

I also like the verses before that but they don't apply to college freshmen, although they do apply to my current caseload:

Light is sweet; it's wonderful to see the sun! When people live to be very old, let them rejoice in every day of life. But let them also remember that the dark days will be many. Everything still to come is meaningless. Ecc. 11:7-8 NLT

Anyway. I don't feel like I am chasing the wind these days, nor do I feel like my days are meaningless. It's funny how these different verses spoke to me at different points in life. Right now I am loving that 'just as you cannot understand the path of the wind ... so you cannot understand the activity of God, who does all things.' I love God is actively working in my life in unexpected ways. I love that I don't need to try to understand His will, I can just trust it.