There is a phenomenon that teachers and carers recognise and dread, and that is the impact of a windy day on the behaviour of children.  For some reason, that no one really has a definitive explanation for, when it is a windy day all children seem to go a little stir crazy.  It is not something you can really avoid, but being aware of it, you can put plans in place to help deal with the ‘fun’ that is probably coming your way.

There was a time when I noticed a negative reaction to this type of weather despite not being in a teaching environment that was definitely driven by where I lived.  Our home was in a street that was lined on both sides with giant oak trees.  They spread a beautiful canopy of protection from sun and heat during the summer and gave our neighbourhood a picturesque environment … and then Autumn would come.

Autumn is the time the leaves would go from lush green to brown in what seemed like half a day and then fall to the ground.  While I can accept that jumping in piles of leaves is a fun activity of noise and sensation, it felt like every leaf from the 40 trees in our section of the street found their way to our front yard. 

No one could sneak past our property as the crunching beneath their footfall gave their presence away immediately.  There were so many leaves that we couldn’t physically keep up with getting them into the fortnightly green waste bin collection and having our yard look leaf free. 

As I would hear the forecast for a blustery day, or the movement of the trees in the breeze at night I would be filled with dread at the impact on our yard and the level of extra gardening time that would be required as a result.

As a child I was taught that God is like the wind.  You cannot see the wind or touch the wind but you can certainly identify where it has been by observing the impact it has had.  If you are outside you can feel the wind on your skin, you can hear it’s effect in the trees and you can witness where it has been.  God is certainly like that. 

While we can’t physically see God we can feel his presence with us, we can hear Him speaking through others and we can see where He has been at work in the lives of people.  The main difference between God and windy days is that I am not filled with dread at the prospect of clearing leaves after a God encounter!

Be blessed.