Whipping Winds

The wind is whipping clouds across the sky this morning, and waves are chewing larger and larger portions of the beach.  I watch the gulls strain to get lift, finding it difficult to locate an updraft.  Many of the shore birds have cancelled their flights, so the beach looks like a major airport runway, birds lined up waiting for take-off commands, but delayed.   Circling in gusts and waves, the wind seems to come from all directions at once; I’m always facing it, being jerked about by blasts that come from somewhere else.  Sometimes problems seem like that.  When I think one issue is settled, another circles and another until I feel caught in a funnel of difficulties.  At such times I particularly need you, dear Lord.  Help me stand still, quiet in your presence.  Let me feel the power of your love, directing me in the path you know best.  May the Holy Spirit’s breath be the only wind that moves me. Amen.