wind

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Catastrophe Happens When You Least Expect It

Have you ever been minding your own business when catastrophe strikes? Well, that’s what happened on Saturday night. 

catastrophe happens when you least expect it

I was doing my regular Saturday night routine, wings doused in Frank’s Redhot sauce. The TV was on and the Leafs were winning. 

There was no question, I was feeling pretty good. I threw some balls out on the pool table and proceeded to knock them into the pockets.

Then I remembered I had a few chairs that needed a bit of assembling. … Who am I kidding? The chairs were from IKEA – they needed complete assembling. 

Life was good. I’d already read over my sermon about three times and made some edits to it. 

What I didn’t realize as I was enjoying my Saturday evening was the catastrophe happening outside the four walls of our house. 

Unlike the three little pigs’ homes, our house is thankfully not made of straw so we were comfortable and unfazed by the howling wolf of a wind outside.

Then Lily heard a crashing sound and went to a window to look out.

Our basketball net had fallen over. 

Realizing that the wind was strong enough to drop the basketball net, she started looking out other windows to check the property over.

That’s when she spied that our back fence had fallen over – not the whole fence but three sections were down. 

Years ago we stored our travel trailer in our back yard, so I had taken two sections of the fence apart and made a large gateway out of them.

We haven’t used this gate in over ten years, but the modification makes weaker than the rest of the fence.  

Add to that, I discovered that two posts had rotted just above the cement that holds them into the ground. This made for a “perfect storm” in the wind storm we were experiencing.  

… I’m thinking that’s why in the three little pigs story even the house that was made with sticks couldn’t withstand the wolf’s howling breath. 

Seeing my fence look like that plastic garden edging that is not fully installed, I figured I needed to do something right there and then.

With no plan I went out to inspect the situation. I figured I couldn’t do anything about the section that was part of the gate and now on the ground, but I could get the other two sections standing straight up again.

With some ingenuity, stakes, a sledge hammer and some tie down straps I got that fence standing fairly straight. Of course I had a large gap in the fence where the one section was missing. 

With a trip to the hardware store the next day for some fence hangers and nails, I had what I needed to put that last section up.

Unless that wolf comes back, I think my fence will remain standing this winter, I’ll make permanent repairs in the spring.

Here’s the thing: Life can flow along for you so peacefully, but there could be a catastrophe brewing. That life storm can overtake you in an instant. It was Jesus who calmed the storm for His disciples. He can calm the storms you go through as well. Always seek Him, and also in times of trouble. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What life storm do you need to seek Jesus for right now? Leave your comments and questions below. 

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When The Wind Is Against You

This afternoon I looked out our front window and the scene that faced me got me humming a song from 1968.

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I was looking at our 30 foot high maple tree, blowing in the wind like it was being beaten into submission by an angry UFC heavyweight.

It’s remarkable that in an instance you can be transported to a song you haven’t heard in dozens of years. Oh, the song? It was “Windy” by the Association.

The song describes two sides of the wind: there’s the “Who’s tripping down the streets of the city, smiling at everybody she sees” side of the wind, and then there’s the “And windy has stormy eyes” side of the wind.

Now, I’m almost certain that the song is about a person, a girl I would wager, who has huge mood swings. She can be great to be with, or she can be your worst nightmare.

Well, the wind today in my corner of the world has all the makings of a horror show … just add some dark skies, lightning flashes and the stage is set.

Earlier in the morning, I experienced the force of the wind personally. I rode my bike in a “Ride for Refuge” fundraiser. It was a 25 km loop during which I affirmed why I like to ride off-road.

For one thing, the trees make a great buffer for the wind. Secondly, it is so boring riding in straight lines with only the pavement and the gravel shoulder to look at.

And then there was the wind – yes, the kind of wind with stormy eyes. Some of the gusts were so strong that if you stopped peddling you would just stop, no coasting.

I wanted to keep about a 20 km/hr average speed, but when the wind was against me, I could,  at times, only muster about 11km/hr.

But when the wind was lambasting me from the side, it literally pushed my bike sideways, so that I had to over-correct my steering.

I made it though. Once the road changed direction, it was clear sailing and I made up for the time I had lost going against the wind.

When I turned into the parking lot at the end of the ride, I was glad to be getting out of the wind for good. The wind hadn’t beaten me; it didn’t put me into any submission hold, but it didn’t make me feel like I had won either.

I knew I had been in a battle and I had a healthy respect for my opponent. In fact, the next time I ride the road I want the version of the wind that’s “smiling at everyone she meets”. I don’t want to do battle again … well, at least not for a while.

I’m a little tired; I need a rest.

Here’s the thing: Life circumstances can smile on you or they can have stormy eyes. Though we all would love to have a life filled with smiles, like the wind that’s so temperamental, so are the situations we find ourselves in. With God’s help we persevere through the gusts against us, and we thank God for the tailwinds that propel us along. This push and pull in life strengthens us like muscles that are stretched and then relaxed. It’s all part of how God seeks to build us into the women and men of His design.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What kind of wind do you find yourself in right now, and how is God assisting? Leave your comment below.