The Wind Blows

I stood at the window this week and watched the trees being whipped by the wind. It would come in great gusts that shook the branches, and then it would die down, only to roar back through. I saw the trunk of the mighty oak out back sway back and forth. Already one large branch was down and several sticks were scattered around the yard. This is the oak that is part of the name of our house—Mary Grace Oaks (Mary Grace for my mother). I find significance in this tree. Fortunately, the storm passed with no more damage done.

The day after Jeff died, our neighbor came to the door to tell me a branch from the oak had fallen in her back yard. It hadn’t done any damage, but she wanted me to take care of it. I told her about Jeff and she said they would take care of it. While I know that in Virginia I am not liable for branches that fall from my tree into someone else’s yard, I was concerned about it. Our neighbor has a day care in our home. I did not want a branch to fall and hurt a child, so last Fall I had all my trees cleared of as much dead wood and risky branches as possible. Then the derecho blew through on my brother’s birthday at the end of June. While we lost no trees, we did lose a lot of healthy branches that fell next to and onto our neighbor’s fence.

As I reflect on the power of wind and the havoc it can wreak, I am also mindful of the wind as an image Jesus used about the Spirit. We can’t see the wind itself; we just see what it moves. We can’t see the Spirit, but if we are mindful we can see the effects of it in our lives and in the lives of others. It can be difficult to discern where the Spirit is in the midst of the havoc that the wind creates. Right now, I am trying to discern what I need to do about this beautiful mighty oak in my backyard. It is strong and can withstand a great deal, but my neighbor is anxious.

As many branches have fallen in our lives over the past couple of years, requiring discernment and decisions, this one seems symbolic of all the rest. How is the God’s Spirit moving over the face of the deep?

John 3:7-8

Do not be astonished that I said to you, ‘You must be born from above.’ The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”