I came back, and he wasn’t there. My heart fell.
…
“You find out the strength of a wind by trying to walk against it, not by lying down,” so said C. S. Lewis. He wrote about temptation, how it isn’t a force we feel when we simply accept its flow. The wind pushes for you when you’re on its side (be careful not to think it’s on your side), and it rejects you when you stand against you. Throw a Frisbee against it, and see this law in action.
I think most of us want to fly. Our flight looks different. Some people want simple freedom. They would like to vacation to their desires, go see sights unseeable where they are now, and live travelling the world. Freedom is intoxicating in its possibilities, and it’s just like jetting through the skies, each destination like a cloud you can land on. Moreover, this visualizes a world where we have no troubles. Your pains, flaws, and enemies have no ability to stop you from the ground. True bliss, yes? Sure, let’s say so for now, but remember the wind.
For others, flight is peace. The sky is a respite. Its blueness is fresh, clean water to soothe everything we’ve endured, and no one can disturb it. We have so many troubles that the world shoots at us, and the madness is like a train loaded down with a thousand kindergartners all blaring on kazoos. We can’t manage, so we want to fly peacefully. However, remember the wind. It blows clouds in.
Flight is joy too. We love to feel the cool air cut against our faces, and the exhilaration of flight sends our hearts racing. There seems to be no better feeling as we reel up and down through the sky, letting everything else go. Why? We search for flight because we believe it will give us what nothing else could: a knowledge that everything is alright no matter the stakes. Nothing could ever be awry. No, wrong. Remember the wind, or it will win.
Take note of three images: freedom, peace, and joy.
When the wind blows, the clouds move away across the horizon. Opportunities fade. When the wind blows, storms roll in. Anxiety replaces peace. When the wind blows, it strikes us to the ground. It allows no joy to be permanent.
The wind changes.
…
The previous day, I had shut the world down. Uh, figuratively. The evening of worship outdoors was positively splendid, green, and filled with people I loved. I did literally everything right: nailed every single conversation with my personality on cloud nine, took care of chores for my family, and had a productive few hours of work.
I woke up the next morning, tussling and tossing in bed.
I had nothing to live for.
My mind pounded. The grayness of everything and my panic told me something wasn’t right. My bed seemed like a grave, so I just sat in my chair at my journal, cold and alone. What the heck was this? Yesterday was great. Today was garbage.
The wind changed.
…
With the wind, we start on a high.
Think about a guy and a girl. Our guy likes our girl very, very much. However, our guy doesn’t know if our girl likes him back very much. This is a timeless, classic setup, I know. He agonizes over the possibilities for months, time goes on, they flirt, converse, and tease in meadows, friends’ apartments, and so on. Finally, our guy has enough. He summons his emotions with the force of thunder, and he pops off. The wind sends him flying into confession. Our girl metaphorically slaps him, asking, “What took you so long?” He is elated, and they date, loving every moment. Yet, eventually infatuation fizzles. They fight. They don’t reconcile. They break up. The wind changed.
The wind leaves us on a low.
Worse, we can forget how to run without the wind. Our guy might lose his identity without being in a tense, heart-pounding relationship, and, if so, he is lost when it’s gone. He goes home without seeing his friends, avoids contact with his ex, and never quite recovers. He was everything with the wind, so he becomes nothing without it. We can rely too much on the wind.
Allowing the wind to carry you is mesmerizing. Everything comes so easily. You are a superhero. I believe this motivation drives us to attempt many things we couldn’t otherwise, and we every-so-surely begin to think the wind is simply our muscle. “I’m so big and strong,” I say. Oh so big, so strong. (I’m being sarcastic.) Siding with the wind isn’t bad. Chasing the wind is.
Furthermore, in many ways, the wind gives us the three things we often want: freedom, peace, and joy. Having a taste of any of it satiates an appetite for more. Again, these are, in fact, good things to possess. I want freedom, peace, and joy. Yet, the wind is only temporarily benevolent. It can’t give you true freedom, peace, and joy.
Build a sustainable life instead. I have two ideas for a sustainable life. First, be a windmill. Store up energy when the wind comes, and be prepared for the inevitable moment when the wind will stop. Don’t overtax yourself during the highs. Instead, think about the low which is certain to come. Set your house on solid rock where the wind won’t blow it down. Set it on Jesus. Second, be featherweight. While the wind is fickle, it is guaranteed to always blow again. If you’re as light as a feather, so the tired cliche goes, you will go up fast and come down slow. In your lows, you shouldn’t crash. You should have eternal freedom, peace, and joy to fall back on: Jesus.
…
I met an important mentor and friend my freshman year of college. I was a young’un unprepared to engage with others independently. My faith was strong but immature (still is though, ha). Moreover, I just needed help. It was hard stumbling around without knowing what to do nor where to go.
My mentor taught me over long coffee meetings, laughing over board games, and exampling Christ in a community.
I remember well one of our rendezvouses at Panera Bread. The colorful atmosphere bled into our conversation as we shot jokes and discussed how God worked in our lives. I straightened up and took a sip of tea as my mentor started probing a bit deeper.
“How have you grown, you know, in ‘loving others’ more as we’ve discussed?”
“It’s hard,” I shook my head.
He sighed. “It is.”
I took another sip of tea. “But I’ve been improving—or so I think. Life is like a game. Once you learn the rules, you can actually improve your gameplay. I didn’t understand the rules before, so I failed. However, now, I’m grasping how to interact with others and make friends.”
“It is like a game, isn’t it? However, in a sense, it’s also not. Life isn’t only a game because it matters beyond us.”
A few months later, he graduated and moved on to a new stage in life. I spent my summer reflecting on the lessons I had learned from him and others. I grew, and I returned to college with a renewed fervor to serve Jesus.
However, when I came back, he wasn’t there.
My heart fell.
…
Ultimately, there’s no way to know when the wind will change. Life isn’t about constantly worrying about tomorrow, attempting to anticipate what comes next. The true is this: this season of life—right here, right now—is key. If the wind is on your side, use it. Don’t waste the time you have doing nothing or abusing what you have. Use your time, energy, and talents to glorify God and love others. It’s not rocket science; it’s Jesus.
If the wind isn’t on your side, keep moving. Take a step every day despite your circumstances. While the wind can push against you, it can’t completely stop your progress. It might be a hard wind, it might make you stumble, and it might blow you away. Still, it’ll relent. So keep going. Do not stop. Never give up. God is with you.
…
“You find out the strength of a wind by trying to walk against it, not by lying down,” so said C. S. Lewis. Modern technology wields the wind for power. In other words, those who figured out the strength of the wind thought, “This is not a thing to eliminate. I will harvest it.” You and I must accept the wind as something God has made. No one human can control it, so let’s exist with it. It is what it is.
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