The wind couldn’t make up its mind today.
All was calm when I woke up this morning. The
lake had become a mirror, reflecting the grey sky and dark forest in vivid
clarity. There was a soft mist brushing my face in the stillness as I went on my morning run.
At breakfast, there were small ripples in the water, the
imprint of a barely detectable east wind. An east wind typically means rain,
while south breezes are rare but warm and playfully swirl across the lake. When south breezes blow in the spring, they bring the
hope of melting, thawing, and a coming out of hibernation.
As I peeled and
sliced a kiwifruit for my lunch, the wind was noticeably coming from the west –
a usually reliable indicator of good weather. By
mid-afternoon, the wind had decided to blow vigorously from the north,
transforming the water into a churning mass of white-tipped waves.
A north wind is unlike the other winds. It is cold and
harsh. It only blows in the summer after a cold front has moved through. When
it begins to blow in September, it heralds the arrival of fall, which will soon
be followed by months of snow, ice, and bitter cold. Its powerful “whoosh”
slaps the side of the house, bends the trees beneath its weight, and forces us
inside with its foreboding coldness.
Yet the north wind and the cold of winter, however unpleasant, still don’t stop the people of the northland. They simply adapt.
Coats come out of the closet, hats and gloves are pulled out of drawers, and
boots are bathed with waterproofing spray. Everyone adds an extra fifteen
minutes to departure time to clean off and warm up their cars.
Perhaps the
reason most of us stick it out every winter is the hope of spring. It may be late some years, but spring never fails to come.
We know that the snow will melt, the blizzards will stop, the rains will come,
and the flowers will bloom again.
A dear sister of my heart is going through a winter
period in her life right now. The winter is hard. Its cold chills the soul.
The waiting is long. It has a way of shaking one’s confidence – in God and His
promises. One wonders, “How long, Lord?”
When my leaves fall, wilt Thou encompass
them?
The gold of autumn flown, the bare branch
brown,
The brittle twig and stem,
The tired leaves dropping down –
Wilt Thou encompass that which men call
dead?
I see the rain, the coldly smoth’ring snow;
My leaves, dispirited,
Lie very low.
So the heart questioneth, white winter near;
Till, jocund as the glorious voice of
spring,
Cometh His “Do not fear,
But sing; rejoice and sing,
For sheltered by the coverlet of snow
Are secrets of delight, and there shall be
Uprising that shall show
All that through winter I prepared for
thee.”
– Amy
Carmichael
God is there in our winters. He does not leave us alone in
the cold wind. He comforts us, upholds us, and protects us as we hide under the
shadow of His wings. The spring will come. Fresh, new growth and blossoms will
come out of the barren, dry period. He will be victorious over the winter and
He will be glorified.
“You were like a leafy bush, and many little
things came to you for shelter.
You were not great or important, but you
could help those little things.
And it was the joy of your life to help
them. Now you cannot do anything
at all. Some desolation, illness, poverty or
something that you cannot talk
about has overwhelmed you, and all your
green leaves have gone. You are
like this bush with its bare twigs, no use
to anyone – that is what you think.
When will the spring come? When will your
bush be green with leaves again?
When will the little birds you love come
back to you? I do not know.
Only I know that sun and snow are working
together for good, and the day
will come when the very memory of
helplessness to help and bareness
and poverty and loneliness will pass as a
dream of the night,
and all that seemed lost will be restored.
Now, in the multitude of the
sorrows that you have in your heart, let
these comforts refresh your soul.
They will not fail you for He will not fail
you who is the God of the sun and the snow.”
– Amy
Carmichael, Figures of the True
The north wind can be unrelenting and we can be
disheartened. Everything may seem lost, out of our control, and helpless, but
God has not left. He has not forgotten and He will never forsake. He looks down
on us with infinite loving-kindness and asks us to simply trust. Trust that He
is working in our winter, bringing us closer to Him, and stripping us of self. Trust that He is in control. Trust that His plans for us are to prosper. Trust that
He is good, faithful, and perfect in love. Trust that even when everything has
fallen to pieces, He is more than enough. Trust that His word is true and His
promises sure.
“The spring will come again, for after
winter there is always spring."
– Amy
Carmichael
