A Mighty Wind

If I didn’t know better, I’d say it’s a calm, clear day. From the safety of a mountain home, I look out at the peaks and valleys and am fooled by the bright sun and clear mountain air. The flags on the deck, though,  are dancing wildly in the wind. Because of them, I know wind is swirling all around me. Like dust that reveals a ray of light, it takes something like a flag to help me “see” the wind. 

Too often, the same is true for my spiritual life. I look out from the safety of wherever I happen to be and think I see things as they are. I’m deceived by appearances. Too often, I’m fooled into thinking things are as they appear, but, then, I’m given the gift of something that awakens me to the mighty wind swirling around me.

The Hebrew people had a name for the mighty wind. They called it, “Ruach,” and believed God was with them in such a wind. Christians also believe God is present in the wind. They call it the Holy Spirit. Like my experience in the mountains, I don’t see the wind until something is placed before me. Suddenly, the wind causes whatever it is to dance. It may be an event that speaks to my heart, a note or call from a friend at just the right time, or a comment made as if speaking directly to me. 

The mighty wind makes itself known through the most unlikely “flags.”  Because of them, and through them, we’re able to see the wind that surrounds us and know that we’re not alone. In this unusual time, looks can be deceiving. Looking out from our homes, we may think we see things as they are, but there’s a wind. There’s always a wind. It just takes a flag to make us see it. 

Dear Mom

Dear Mom,

I wanted to pick up the phone this morning, but you wouldn’t have picked up. I wanted to send flowers, but your address now belongs to someone else. What I would give to hear you dismiss the holiday as some Hallmark scam while knowing you still love that I called.

I recently came across a picture of you and me. You looked so young. It’s funny, I never thought of you as young. You were my mother. You were the one who had all the answers, the one who made the rules, the one who knew how to put the Band Aid on just right. The picture made me realize you were just figuring this mothering thing out as you went along like the rest of us parents. I give thanks for all the times you got it so right and completely understand the times you didn’t. It’s hard. 

I know I’m supposed to remember all the big moments, but I always think about the smell of your perfume, the sound of your bracelets, the feel of your hug, and the words you whispered only to me. 

Today, I can only reach inside to find pieces of you. I just hope those who still have their moms will make the most of this day. How I wish I could change places with them.

Say hello to Dad for me. See you one day soon.

Me

The Gospel According to a Roller Coaster

We were taken to Seaside Heights Amusement Park once a summer, and it was a big deal. Unlike the amusement park closer to home, Seaside Heights was bigger and more exciting. Of all the rides, the roller coaster was the ride that thrilled me most. (Yes, this is the same roller coaster you saw submerged in the ocean after Super Storm Sandy.) I could have ridden it all day long if my stomach and wallet would have allowed.  

Located on the farthest corner of the peer, the roller coaster had the ocean on two sides. Once strapped in, we heard the clicking sound as we were lifted to the summit. For a moment, we were on top of the world, able to look out across the sea and down the shoreline. Then, everything changed. With a sudden turn, we plummeted toward the wooden peer, swerving to the left, then right, before being lifted and dropped then turned again. I wasn’t one of those riders who let go and waved my hands in the air. I was a white-knuckler all the way. With eyes closed, I simply sought to survive. The view at the top became a distant memory. All I could think about were the twists and turns in front of me. It wasn’t until we were back on solid ground that I could remember the great view from the top.

The same is so often true of our lives. We’re lifted and given the incredible opportunity to live. Hopefully, along the way we’re given moments of inspiration, times when we see beyond the here and now to something larger. Such moments don’t come often, nor last as long as we might like, but they offer a perspective that can serve us well if we can just remember them. Unfortunately, life often involves sudden descents and twists and turns which make us forget the view from the top.

A job of a lifetime becomes excruciatingly difficult.

A joyful marriage faces challenges which shake its very foundation.

A religious person loses all sense of God when life becomes dark. 

The twists and turns are real and make us lose sight of what filled our soul at the start the ride. 

Let’s take a world-wide virus, for example. Such a thing can cause us us to cling to the sides of our cars with all our might and close our eyes tight. Mere survival causes us to forget the bigger picture - forget the ocean or shoreline - and think only of the immediate dangers.

But the ocean’s still there whether we see it or not. If we can just open our eyes a little and look beyond the twists and turns, if we can turn off the television and refrain from scrolling through the endless ups and downs of social media, we might catch a glimpse of the bigger world around us. 

Looking up, we might see how blessed we are to have homes, food, family, friends and health. Such gifts have always been there. The ride just causes us to forget, sometimes.