Part 1: “MOVING WITH THE WIND”

The word wind is used extensively throughout the entire Bible. Though we cannot see the wind, we certainly can feel the effects of the wind. We cannot tell where it comes from & where it goes, but even though we cannot see the wind we know it is there, for we can feel it’s presence. The same is true for God, for though we cannot see Him we know & believe He is present with us for we can feel His presence with us. The wind is an ever-present force, sometimes gentle, sometimes powerful & unpredictable & certainly not within our control. Biblically the word wind is frequently equated with the Holy Spirit of God. It is often likened to the very breath of God. It carries us, refreshes us, fills us with new life, empowering us to reflect God’s light & love to the world & often the wind teaches us ways to go forward in life through the various transitions we all face. The wind, the breath of God, is a Holy gift in whatever form it may come to us. Regardless of where we live or what race or culture or season we are living in, God endlessly breathes His life-giving Holy Spirit into us & around us & gives us life whether we are in a season of beauty or of suffering. We cannot live without God’s breath. It carries us one way or another throughout our life.

As a person who has lived by the water in the summer most of my life, I have had many experiences with the wind, for the two forms of nature frequently go together, water & wind, both life giving. The wind is a source of great peace for me. I have experienced both storms, playful times & very spiritually filling times in the presence of the life-giving invisible wind, empowered by God’s breath, given through His Holy spirit. In these times with the wind, I have learned a lot & grown in my faith through various transitions in my life as the wind has surrounded me & bathed me in God’s grace. Many of those times have involved moving through the wind with sailboats & kites, as I was carried & led by God’s invisible breath given by His Holy Spirit. I think it is impossible for your heart not to sing praise to God as you are bathed by the very breath of God through the Holy spirit in the wind & water & for that I am grateful.

~Posted by Rev Kathryn Bindig, MDiv. MS; Pastoral Care Minister with assistance from Rich Muscatello; Director of Business Development & Strategy