I had the privilege of speaking briefly at a women’s retreat last week where ironically enough I found myself lakeside again. It was a beautiful fall day; the leaves were changing and there was a much anticipated crisp in the air. The thoughtful leader of this retreat designed a self-reflection time during the day which I knew would be the hardest forty-five minutes for me. I have longed for some time to myself, but would I even know what to do during that time without any outside distractions? I found a corner under a tree with a view of the beautiful lake, grabbed my journal and four sweet cards from loved ones that this amazing leader also planned….and I sat. I then got up a few more times to get a pen, grab my bag and a glass of sweet tea, but then I sat again.

I was finally settled – it was “me” time. Once I positioned myself to accept what God would fill me with in those moments the wind began to blow. It wasn’t a gentle breeze but a resilient wind that caused acorns to fall on my head and my journal pages to flutter. It would have been easy to get frustrated, but I felt the Holy Spirit so serenely whisper – you are alive. The wind was a reminder that I am alive and that I am free. It was a reminder that I could still feel, sense and experience something that is unseen yet so commanding. It was a reminder to be grateful for yet another day to encounter God through the wind. I prayed, journaled, watched some of the other women down at the shoreline experience this wind too and for those forty-five minutes I was a witness to unity and harmony within the body of Christ.

There were no screens or clocks – we were all using each second in an attempt to feel something greater than ourselves. One of the last exercises before lunch lead us to the dock where we all tossed our fears, anxieties and restless sentiments into the water. The other ladies did not know beforehand that the paper they were writing on was dissolvable paper so to their surprise, their burdens simply disappeared. As one lady mentioned, some dissolved quickly, some slowly, some in pieces – just like the struggles of our carnal lives. Yet when we all walked away from the dock, we walked away with empty hands ready to be filled with the newness of God and an eagerness to keep serving. The wind that carried our papers away and created waves upon the water was a beautiful example of the Holy Sprit’s masterpiece upon our lives if we are first willing to sit.

I only knew a few of the women before going into this day personally, but when I left that place, I felt that we each shared something so special and unique. The wind was not just an act of natural weather that day – it was yet again a notice to my spirit to keep pushing forward. I closed my journal filled with words of remembrance with appreciation that God has me right where I need to be. His desire for us to grow deeper in wisdom and understanding is not only apparent through His word, but through the things around us created by Him for our good. The wind carried me to another place that day, a place that I did not even know I needed so deeply. It wasn’t a crowded church, curated worship playlist or a pastor on fire for God in the pulpit- it was a folding chair under a tree, an aligned heart and a surrender to just be still.

I pray you grab a chair and sit this week – no cell phones, no computers, no agenda. Imagine what God can speak into your spirit when you purposely take time to listen without distraction – chains can be broken, burdens lifted and the oil to fill every area of your empty vessel can be restored. Can you feel the wind?

“ The wind blows where it wills, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know from where it comes and where it goes. Thus is everyone having been born of the Spirit.” John 3:8.

Blessings, Kayla