Whoever watches the wind

It goes without saying that our family feels the call to 'cast our bread unto the waters' not on occasion or when called to special tasks but in all things and at all times. Or do we, really? We do live life for God before men but are we holding on to grain we should be sharing? We've only known this task in the safety of our comforts and convienence hence when our conditions are favorable. If we continue on in Ecclesiastes 11 verses 3-4 we read "If clouds are full of water, they pour rain upon the earth. Whether a tree falls to the south or to the north, in the place where it falls, there will it lie. Whoever watches the wind will not plant; whoever looks at the clouds will not reap."

The inevitable...life will come and go and with it comes trials and troubles. The sons of men will see calamity...we don't know when it comes or how long it stays but we know it's coming. So we know that life continues on and unknown evils exist but do we wait until conditions are favorable before we set out to accomplish what we can. Do we let fear paralyze us?

Watching the wind. I grew up on the Gulf coast...we watched the wind through many hurricane seasons. But one thing coast dwellers know all too well is regardless of the clouds or the wind, it was always worth the chance of driving over the bridge, beach bound. A cloudy or even rainy day at home never proved to be a good indicator of the weather at the beach unless a tropical storm was nearby. We quickly learned that you could look to the clouds or the wind and miss a great day with sunny skies, sandy walks, and rolling waves.

But as I've gotten older, I don't risk the drive as much. Maybe it isn't so much age, maybe it's that I live further from the coast now and the risk is costlier. Either way, that realization has made me think about the risks in my life. I'm a planner, an organizer, or so I thought...until I married a real list- checking, everything lined up kind of guy. Now I realize I'm more of the adventuring type (who loves a plan orchestrated by others).

Our family was faced with a recent decision that required us to take a risk. I knew someone else was in charge of the plan and I knew God was looking for me to say, "Here I am," but the list checker in this duo couldn't see the HOW in it all. He was so used to looking to the clouds and the wind (must have been that farm boy upbringing....remember the beach goers have had more success at ignoring the weather). It wasn't until a friend reminded him that we must "Get the how out of it!"

He who waits on certainty waits forever. Although there is more to be said (which I'm sure will unravel as I write in the days to come), my list-checking hubby put the paper down, disregarded his inclination to ask how, took his eyes of the 'weather' and decided to drive this family over the bridge. "Beach bound," you ask. NO! Then WHERE are we heading?