When the winds blow . . .

 

We awoke to debris hitting our house one morning last week. Winds that I later learned were gusting to over forty miles per hour dislodged sticks, branches, and pinecones. Fire truck, emergency vehicle, and police car sirens blared. What was going on?

As I peered out the window, debris swirled in the air. I listened for weather alarms, which were installed when this community was decimated by tornados decades ago. There’d been a test a couple of weeks ago, so I knew they worked. However, amidst all the other screaming noise, I didn’t hear their distinctive drone. After only a few minutes, the road and my front yard were littered. The power flickered. Trees bent and swayed.

This went on for nearly an hour.

A couple of hours later at a dentist appointment, my hygienist said that on her way to work, she looked in her rear view mirror and saw a power pole sparking as it fell right behind her car. A close call. What we experienced was a rare localized wind event churned out of a huge system that had moved through here earlier—something meteorologists call a “wake low.”

I’ve been thinking a lot about change lately. When those winds cranked up, my pondering went into high gear. We often speak of the “winds of change.” As I listened to the howl, and watched the mounting effects of this gale, I knew we were experiencing change—some hard to understand. Those emergency sirens I’d heard earlier had been vehicles rushing to the scenes of accidents cause by trees falling on vehicles and roadways. People were hurting.

When the “winds of change” blow through our homes, sometimes people get hurt. Sometimes, we suffer loss. We wonder how we’ll deal with the fallout. Even blessings that bring change can be difficult to navigate. I heard recently that people who have opportunity to fulfill a dream of starting their own business often want their old jobs back a short time later. Because it’s hard. Because they couldn’t imagine the challenges. As much as we love someone, getting married brings with it built in change. A joy and yet, hard. I know a woman whose family was remodeling a home. I’ll never forget her sharing about the challenging process. “It really is a blessing,” she said as tears streamed down her face.

It’s good to know that always, always, always, God is with us. He doesn’t change.

“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows” (James 1:17).

Early in my walk with the Lord, my biggest mentor, a pastor, was moving and leaving town. Winds of change. I cried all night one night. I didn’t know how I could deal with such a significant loss. In his final sermon, he left us with this verse. ““Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8).

At about the same time, I found a refrigerator magnet with the verse on it, and that magnet stayed on my frig for many years. When I longed for that former mentor, I remembered that I had someone with me who never moved away, no matter what else changed.

It’s not a matter of if the winds will blow. The winds will blow. But those who cling to Jesus will hold steady no matter what the weather brings.