The Winds of Change
Let them blow you forward, not downward.
You’ve heard it said that, “The only thing certain in life is change.”
If you live in or near a windy city, you also know another certainty about life, windy weather.
Change can be good, or bad depending on where you secure your rudder and anchor.
While I realize that we need both wind (for our sails) and change to thrive—not just survive—few people like change and I’m certain even fewer like the wind. Wind blows dust in your eyes, scatters trash everywhere and if it’s strong enough, it can damage homes (roofs, windows, etc.), trees and wreak havoc on the highways for drivers of any type of vehicle. Not to mention if you’re an avid tennis or pickleball player, the wind doesn’t always help you win!
Thankfully, speaking of change, some changes come as a nice gentle breezes.
These are changes we look forward to. They are the kinds of wind that are wanted and welcomed in our lives; not just in the physical sense, but the internal sense as well. These kinds challenging changes make our lives better on the outside (physically) and the inside (emotionally, mentally, spiritually).
However, sometimes (or most of the time) it seems that our emotional weather is bombarded by the whirlwinds of worry and the hurricanes of hurry up!
Accompanied by the winds of stress, loss, doubts, and fears, they can quickly become overwhelming and knock the wind out of us. These are the winds of change that can drive us to our knees in panic, prayer, or both.
Yes, we all have to deal with unexpected weather and adversities in our lives.
You’ve probably heard it said that a kite rises against the wind, not with it. However, most of us aren’t flying kites! We're trying to put in an honest day's work, finish our schooling, protect and enjoy our marriage, raise a family and sometimes just survive life. We keep setting our sails for the promised land of success and happiness, but the winds of change keep trying to blow us back and off course.
When the winds of change come, whether unexpected, unwelcomed, or not…
You can either allow them to blow you off course and keep eroding away your hopes and dreams (giving you plenty of great excuses for why you’re not successful or happy), OR, you can mend and fortify your sails and allow the winds of adversity to fill them and drive you forward as you steer your ship back on course towards the shores of your goals and dreams.
Will it be easy? No. When is it ever easy?
And just because the beach is within reach doesn’t mean it’s your final destination. Because you can’t learn to sail in the storms from the sand. And trying to live life in the doldrums will only drown you in despair from the regrets of “what if’s” and “if only’s.”
I’m not trying to be a melancholy meteorologist, but rather to offer you a forecast of more faith in your future.
And it is still out there! But you won’t reach it by fearing to set sail because of the winds and storms. True sailors learn to sail in the storms not the calms. So, remain calm and let the winds of change blow.