Whew - WIND!

On Tuesday morning, December 9, I looked at my wife and let out a sigh as I declared, “Whew! We made it through!” She simply replied, "We made it through.” On Friday we saw the weather forecast of a coming windstorm. These storms happen in the Mat-Su Valley, usually in the winter. One newspaper report talked of 80 mph gusts with this storm. However, we have had stronger storms. I was once told that this wind is a result of the “Venturi Effect,” because of the narrow Matanuska River canyon. I also read this week that the National Weather Service calls this type of phenomenon a “Bora.” Either way Kathy tells me, “In Florida when a hurricane arrives they give it a name, and the winds last 8-12 hours. In Palmer when the wind blows for days, people just say, ‘The wind is blowing in Palmer.’”

Our power went out right after supper on Saturday evening around 6:30 p.m., and returned about 36 hours later on Monday morning around 5:30 a.m. So I woke on Sunday morning for church with a flashlight, thankful for a shower the previous morning. We disconnected the garage door and manually lifted the door. My breakfast came from the Eagle River McDonald’s drive-thru. We ran our gas fire place during those 36 hours, because our heat was not working. We also fired up a Little Buddy propane heater and put it in our garage under our hot water heater, since the dog water had a film of ice.

I checked on an elderly next door neighbor, and also went to see how our son, Andrew, was doing. Then, on Sunday evening our neighbors, who have a generator and therefore did have power, noticed us in our living room reading by flashlight, of which thankfully have a good supply. They invited us over for some warmth and a meal. We had a really nice visit.

By far, we were not the folks with the longest power outage. Our son’s power went out before ours while he was at work, and did not come back on until about 14 or 15 hours later than ours did. We know of other people who endured even longer outages.

On Monday, as the power returned and life started to return to normal, I picked up around our house. A birdhouse had blown off it’s post. Our flag pole was out of the holder. Our grills had been blown off our back porch. I had some repair to do to a hose holder. We now have to do work again on the lights on our front yard Christmas tree. But, others lost trees, roofs, fences, sheds, outhouses, and other items in their yards and on their houses. We got off easy, I think.

I started thinking (as a Christian pastor might) about windstorms in the Bible. Elijah awaited the coming of the Lord in 1 Kings 19:11. We read, “ . . . a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind.” Paul endured a ‘northeaster’ on a large cargo ship with 275 other people on the Mediteranean Sea for 14 days. (Acts 27) But the verse that stuck in my mind is from Jesus’ conversation with Nicodemus in John 3. As Nicodemus questions Jesus about how people are “born again,” Jesus replies, “The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit." (John 3:8)

Where DOES the wind come from? I read of jet streams, high and low pressure, of various weather forecasts and geological features. Yet, why at one time does the jet stream move in one direction, and in another at other times? What causes the high and low pressure systems to stay, or to move? Who causes, or created, the geology of our area, and other areas of the world? Jesus says of the wind, “you do not know where it comes from or where it goes.” I believe that even educated scientists and meteorologists can not tell us what our weather will be a year from now. But, there is one who does know; the Lord God, the Creator of the Earth.

Instructive to me, Jesus compares the coming of the wind to being ‘born of the Spirit.’ He compares the source of the wind to a person coming to faith. We don’t always understand how and when a person is ‘born of the Spirt.’ Still, Jesus does call Nicodemus, and He does call us to this mysterious birth, to this life of faith. He tells Nicodemus, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God." (John 3:3), and further explains, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” (John 3:5) I understand Jesus to say that He works through the Holy Spirit and through baptism to bring people to faith. Yet, when that happens it’s still a mystery.

The truth is that the wind can and does disrupt our lives. Buildings are damaged. Power goes out. Schools and businesses close. The new birth of faith in Jesus changes our lives too. We don’t have to wonder if we are loved, and therefore do TO others before they do to us. Instead, we can live in the assurance of the love of our Heavenly Father who sent His Son. Our priorities change when Jesus comes through faith. We don’t live for ourselves, but “for Him who died for us and rose again.” (2 Corinthians 5:15 b). We need fear nothing in this world because, as Jesus told Nicodemus, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

A windstorm may stop our lives for a bit, and cause some life issues. The coming of Jesus, through believing in Him, changes our lives for eternity, and bring everlasting life, and love, and blessings! Blow in my life, Lord, Jesus!