Summer Breeze
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Jesus said, “The wind blows where it wants to and you hear the sound of it, but you don’t know where the wind comes from or where it is going. It is the same with every person who is born from the Spirit.” John 3:8
While on vacation in Destin, there was a beach complex with a sign in front of it that read “Summer Breeze.” Each time we biked passed it, the song by Seals and Crofts played in my head – “Summer breeze makes me feel fine. Blowin’ through the jasmine in my mind.” Some of you just sang those words, didn’t you?
There is such peace in my heart when I breathe in the feelings associated with a summer breeze. It is now summer, and the breeze of summer is filled with memories and smells for me. The smells include fresh cut hay, the early morning smell of the corn and beans in the humidity, the fresh air, and the smell of the summer flowers. The summer breeze brings memories of Vacation Bible School and my mom sitting in her swing enjoying the sunshine and breeze.
Summer brings a more relaxed view of life with vacations, longer daylight, evening walks, some porch sitting, swimming, cookouts, and even sometimes the feelings that one does not need to be as productive. There are less expectations. School is out for summer break and the routines have slackened. More people are camping and boating. For farmers, the crops are all planted and just relying on God to water them and provide the needed sunshine for growth. The hay requires the summer breeze to dry it out, and those baling it need the breeze to cool them off in the hot summer sun.
The summer breeze is refreshing and peaceful on bike rides in the sunshine. It is amazing to watch the white fluffy clouds gently move across the blue sky and create unique shapes in the summer breeze. It is also listening to the breeze through the trees and watching the trees clap their leaves together like hands as they sway in the wind.
But along with these peaceful feelings in the summer breeze come the pop-up summer storms. They can happen without much warning and come even when the prediction is for no rain. Soon the gentle breeze becomes strong, and the swirling wind seems to come from all directions bringing a downpour. The unexpected happens and disrupts the peacefulness.
Life is like the unexpected summer storms. We feel that life is going good with a gentle summer breeze of peacefulness. Life has a good routine, and you predict smooth sailing for a while. The bills are paid, the family is getting along at the moment, and you have some hope that progress is happening in your life. Then a storm pops up unexpectedly, out of nowhere. The storm may be that something breaks down, a financial stress, an illness, conflict in the family, job loss, or the death of a loved one. The gentle breeze turns into a raging hurricane with the strong winds that are pulling you under and destroying your sense of peace and hope in its pathway. You do not know what will happen next, and your anxiety and fear take control. The winds of change are coming from all directions.
Can you relate? We have all been there if we admit it. So, what do you do when you thought you had control over your peaceful summer breeze, but now the unexpected winds of life overpower you? Do you let worry and fear take control and allow the negativity of life to be your view? You just feel like everything bad keeps happening to you just when you begin to relax and enjoy the summer breeze. The summer breeze of life is just a false hope for you. No matter how hard you try, life keeps blowing up and the raging winds toss you around.
Storms happen unexpectedly but summer breezes are also reality. Storms are not forever. Slow down your thoughts from going down the negative path. Yes, we do not know where the winds come from or where they go. You can only see their path after they have gone through. Enjoy the moments of peace and the gentle breeze. God is there in the summer breeze, when life feels good and peaceful. Hold fast to the stronghold of your life – God’s presence – in the storm. God is still with you. Life is filled with all types of winds. The Spirit of God is always in the wind. Always present within us.
The summer breeze of peace is always within you because that peace is the Holy Spirt that dwells within you. It is still there even in the storms, but it is not our focus at that moment. The storm gets all our attention. It is reminding ourselves that God is in the quiet and in the chaos. God never changes. The circumstances of life change along with our focus, and we forget that God is in control, and we just need to depend on Him to walk us through. God gives us His peace in the summer breeze and in the storm.
Allow the peaceful summer breeze of the Holy Spirit to flow through you.
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Are you going through a storm right now or know someone who is? Through the month of July, my birthday month and as your gift to me, I am asking everyone who reads my blog, to purchase one of my books either for yourself or for a friend. It may be the storm of grief, then purchase – Living In The Different. It may be that you have gone through the intensity of loss and change and need guidance on the journey, then purchase – Live Different Moments. It may be that you want to make a difference and leave a legacy, then purchase – Life Lessons of a Lone Trooper – and read how my husband, Dave left a legacy. You can laugh and cry with him. All books are available on Amazon, through me, or at Tea Story in Upper Sandusky. Thank you. Give a gift to a friend or to yourself.
