My Friend The Wind

I recently heard someone say that they could find nothing to be thankful for about the wind. Wind, that hated instrument of nature; universally despised and routinely cursed, seems to be the bane of mankind. It brings storm and trouble, hurricane and disaster, it wrecks parties, it ruins homes and it tears apart the beauties of nature. Who can love the wind? Who can love the thorn in one's side?

When I was living in Utah, there came one day a terrible wind storm. The wind blew in gusts up to 100 mph leaving in it's path damages totaling many millions of dollars. Roofs were torn completely from their homes, windows broken, branches twisted and thrown hundreds of feet through the air and countless small articles were blown hither and yon throughout the city. But by far the most devastating damage from that storm was done to the trees and, oddly enough, the trees most hurt by it were the aging giants.

I remember walking downtown in that city and seeing those towering monuments of nature lying flat on the ground just as if there had been a colossal bowling game and the trees had been bowled over. “Why?” I asked someone who was standing nearby, “Why do you think these great trees have fallen when they seemed big enough to withstand anything.” His reply was simple and sensible. He said that the trees had plenty of water and were sheltered from the wind most of the time. Because of that, they didn't ever develop a deep root system so when this great gust of wind hit them they tipped over as easy as knocking over a child's blocks..

Since then I have thought a lot about wind. We hate wind like we hate bills, debt, trouble, adversity, death and taxes. But what if we didn't have the wind? Wind is the great broom that sweeps the filth from the sky and brings the blessed rainfall to clean, freshen and make everything alive. Wind is the air we breathe. Oxygen is the most important nutrient in the body and the wind in our face is a constant reminder that we cannot live without it. Wind pushes us when we are slow. Wind makes us catch out breath and makes us more awake. Wind can make us run when we would otherwise walk. Wind can even lifts us off the ground. Wind is the bringer of spring, the harbinger of fall and the full, hot breath of summer. Upon the wind we smell the flowers, rain and a back-yard barbecue. It lifts the birds to flight and brings them down again. It stirs the clouds into a magnificent display of unparalleled beauty and daily arranges them into position for both sunrise and sunset panoramas.

But the wind, to me, is much more than just an architect of beauty, it is an awesome power like the ocean, that gives me a feeling of grandeur beyond comprehension. As a child I would sit and listen to the wind like some people go the the sea to watch the waves. There was a lot of trouble in my life and there was a lot of wind. The trouble has made me stronger and so has the wind. The trouble, and the wind, were my friends. Now when I listen to the wind it speaks to me of trouble overcome, of heartache understood, of peace past the pain. I love the wind.

When the wind blows very hard around here, my children love to go to the closet and find an old sheet, take the corners in their hands, spread their arms and try to pull the sheet through the wind. It's hard work just to keep their feet on the ground. They laugh and fall and fly a little until they are too tired to hold the corners anymore and they come in out of the wind. When they blow in from outside they are exhilarated and smiling. They love it.

It's a little bit like life. You can either put your head down, trying to stay out of the wind, hating the force that pushes you down, hating the trouble that teaches you how to be better, despising the wind of adversity that blows death and difficulty into your life or you can take what comes and love it, pulling with all your might until you are tired; resting and getting right back at it the next day; letting the wind blow and giving it all you've got. Taking the wind of adversity and letting it make you stronger will bring you joy and strength. Hating it will only make you weak like those old trees. Then, when something comes that you cannot avoid, you may fall. Yes, I think I can be thankful, even for the wind.