I think I’ve finally discovered something. When the harsh winds of life blow away something precious, they often leave room for something new to show up.
The wind has certainly been shaking things up as March arrives on the scene. After all, March is the windy month, even if many of us were unprepared for its force this year. What’s blowing through my heart has been powerful as well.
In my life, it all started with young love. He had brown, wavy hair, streaked soft blonde from the sun, big brown eyes that sparkled when he talked, and a way of making you feel special. He knew how to say just the right things and he needed a friend. I decided to give it a try. A year later we were married. Three and a half years later he was gone. Once the children and I moved back from Florida to Atlanta, we never saw him again. He left a wake of brokenness in our hearts as real as any tornado. And I had to decide what to do now that my life and my hopes had been blown away.
I spent many years wondering if I could trust God as a result of that time in my life. Funny isn’t it? God’s not the one who left me, but, I reasoned, I did meet my husband in one of His houses. My life as a single parent and sole provider was hard. I believed in God, took my children to church, and kept praying but doubt lingered in the corners of my soul. Trust was my biggest loss. Strangely enough, it took another series of harsh winds to change my heart for good.
My son went through a really hard time in his twenties. I wondered if any of us in my small family would survive. Several years into his whirlwind, as I was crying out to God one night, I read Nehemiah 4. “Our God is awesome and mighty and He will fight for us.” I felt He was speaking to me. Hope was rekindled in my heart. A year later, a very hard year later, my son began to walk a road to recovery that has led him to his own still pastures. And I’ve finally understood something. You can let the things that blow you away take you far from God or drive you into his heart and arms.
Guess which road my heart is learning to take? That’s right. I’ve been blown right back into the loving arms of my Heavenly Father. I’m learning to take deep breaths and lean into Him, no matter which way the wind is blowing.