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A Windy Forecast by Colleen Fraioli
Wind. It’s so annoying, always stirring things up, wreaking havoc. Take my hair, for instance. I can go from coiffed to cyclone in an instant upon exiting my front door. Why bother? Why not skip the shower and blow-dry, and just keep the bed-head look? It is totally in with teenagers anyway. That must be it. I’m supposed to be trendy.
My Dad used to say that wind ushers in each new season. It’s God’s way of giving us a warning of upcoming changes so we can slowly adjust to the idea.
I need warnings - like when doctors diagnosed my Mom with Lymphoma. God sent the wind of His Spirit stirring my heart to pray for her months before we knew. I didn’t even know how to pray, I just sensed something coming. When we got the news, I didn’t panic. Instead I felt settled. Knowing diffused the severity.
The wind also blew in my spirit before I resigned from a job I loved. God unsettled me and asked me to release it internally before the actual event that necessitated it. Rather than feeling confused, I knew it was the right thing to do. In hindsight, I can see His protection from further heartache had I remained.
John 3:8 says, “The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
This verse implies that believers are to live a “windy” lifestyle, blowing according to the mind of His Spirit–unsure where it will lead, yet always in prayer.
It is uncomfortable to be uncertain. Sometimes I don’t know if the wind is God or my own imagination. Yet when I align my inclinations with His Word and prayerful inquiry, He directs and confirms. His activity is always for His good purpose rather than my own selfish agenda.
At the time I may not understand how God is moving, but invariably I see the aftermath of His power. His answers reinforce my leap of faith. How kind of Him to bless me with a forecast of His intentions, prepare me for things that would otherwise overwhelm, and use me as part of His plan.
When I think of wind in this way, I’m no longer exasperated. I’m endeared. It’s my barometric crossing guard. It clears the path and shows me when I need to be vigilant, because there is more ahead than meets the eye. Lately, before bed each night, I thank the Lord for His persistent waft that keeps me from ignoring, downplaying or explaining away His movement.
Just as the seasons settle, I’ve noticed God’s wind is not always as urgent as those times of crisis. As in nature, sometimes the wind will be a gust and other times a slight breeze.
This is a time in Women's Ministries when God is gently blowing in a new season. It may seem unsettling at first, but Connie, Gretchen and I are committed to heeding the wind of the Holy Spirit. I invite you to join us as we prayerfully follow His lead. Who knows what great things await us?
Colleen
Note to self: The next time I walk out of my house and the wind gives me a comb-over, I need to remember it is God’s way of giving me a heads-up.
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