Listening to the Wind

“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.” -1 Chronicles 16:34

It seems winter decided that it would make an appearance! Many folks are sure to seal up drafty windows on these chilly winter nights. Much to Heather’s chagrin, I’m that person who almost always sleeps with the window open a bit, even on some of the coldest nights.

I love a nice cold room for sleeping. But what I love even more is the sound of the blowing wind. It reminds me of cozy nights spent at my grandparents in WV, sleeping with windows open to hear the crickets, frogs, and breeze blowing through the trees. I am reminded of the winds that blew across the SD hills as I sat on a deck with a group of youth and adult missionaries discussing the work of the day and how God was at work in our lives and the lives of those we had met. And I am always brought back to the beginning, when the winds of God’s Spirit blew over and through the swirling chaos that would become Creation.

The sound of the wind invites me once again, invites us all, to that intimate moment when God breathed the breath of life into humanity, that life-giving wind that has swept through us all ever since. An ever-whirling current of life moving through all of creation since its very beginnings. I inhale the gift of what the trees exhale and they I - mutuality, interdependence. I exist because of you and you because of me, and all because of God. The breath I breathe, once belonging to the saints of days past, pauses momentarily within me before moving toward new life elsewhere. There is an eternal interconnectedness. We share the collective sigh of loss, the exhalation of relief, and inhalation of anticipation. We are the body of Christ. And the winds of the Spirit move through us all.

As much as anything, the sound of the wind reminds me to be thankful. Thankful for the many people and places that fill my collective memory. Thankful for the saints that have come before and those that will come after. And thankful for the work of God in creation; that first breath of life and the breath that continues to sustain us all.

This Sunday is Valentine’s Day, a day we set aside for love. And what is love without thanksgiving? What reminds you to be thankful? And for what are you thankful?

I am thankful for you all!

And I praise God for the great work you have done through us this challenging year. May you experience the love of God, the peace of Christ, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, and in the midst of it all, remember to breathe.

Peace,

Ken