Born of Spirit

The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.

John 3:8

Born of Spirit. September 16, 2025.

The winds arrived in the middle of last night. All through fall and winter, we lie in bed listening to it howl across the bluff while we tuck under the covers a little more. The rose bush is scratching the window, so I put on my robe and grab some scissors and twine. In the darkness, the wind furiously blows my hair everywhere, but I managed to secure the roses against the fence, stopping the scraping. Fall yard preparation now includes wind preparation. The mighty force of the wind can be quite destructive, so everything that isn’t sufficiently heavy goes inside. And being at the end of the cul-de-sac, we get the garbage that blows around, which must be collected from the back corners of our yard. I should hate the wind and yet I don’t. Instead, it has become a close friend.

I decided to look up the benefits of wind, something I knew once upon a time in my elementary school years. In reacquainting myself with the basics, I relearned that the wind is vital to keep the world healthy and ecosystems flourishing. It changes the landscape, but it also keeps the Earth alive. If things did not move, it would be catastrophic for growth. Hot and cold would pool in certain areas, rendering them uninhabitable. Life would not disperse properly as seeds accumulated in certain areas. There would be large deserts, both hot and cold, as well as great death on Earth without wind. The wind is a balancing force that keeps the Earth from moving into inhospitable extremes. Isn’t balance a beautiful word?

The Holy Spirit is the wind in the believer’s life. Its movement is necessary to keep us balanced and from becoming stagnant human beings with no real growth. It is our balancing force that keeps us from pooling into stagnant ponds. We become flowing and alive, and healthy. In these times of extremities. I find my dependence on the Holy Spirit to be greater than ever. He moves me around and refines me in the harsh landscape, never letting me vegetate into spiritual death. And yes, it’s uncomfortable and often frustrating, change always is, but I welcome it. I think maybe the reason I love the wind is because it has become a metaphor for the times. Like the wind, the Holy Spirit is unseen and a great force that is revealing itself more and more. Come, Holy Spirit, come.

Have a beautiful day!