From the Elder's Pen SINGING IN THE WIND Past/Future Articles

One day a man was watching a bird that was perched on a limb that was blowing in the wind.  He thought, “If I were sitting on a flimsy limb in the midst of a wild storm, I’d worry for sure.  Yet, there sits that tiny bird being tossed and jerked about without a care in the world, and not only is he calmly sitting on his limb, but he is, of all things, singing at the top of his voice.  Listen – you can almost understand the words of his happy song:

You can blow, mister wind,
But I’m still gonna sing,
And if you do blow me off,
I’ve still got my wings.”

                  (Unknown)
When we look at life in a realistic way, we recognize that there are many disappointments, heartaches, and failures, and we must weather many winds that blow.  How will we withstand the storms?  Are we going to give up, worry, have fears, and be depressed?  Or be like the bird that sings through the storm with confidence that should we fall, God has given us wings?  The psalmist wrote, “I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.  My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth.” Psalm 121:1-2.

There are two ways we can face life: We can face it with faith, trust, and God’s guidance, believing that the wind is forceful, but God is stronger, or face it alone.  However, those that choose life without faith must look to flesh with all its weakness, and death.  When these find themselves caught in the storm, they cannot sing because they have no wings.

Our attitude and focus toward life should be as the words of this poem:

“I do not ask, Dear Lord, that life may be, always a pleasant road beneath my feet,
Nor paths to walk where thorns prick not my feet,
I do not ask, Dear Lord, for flowers along the way,
Where only shines the sun in soft array.
But this I ask, and pray that it may be,
That when I walk in storm or calm,
That you, Dear Lord, will walk with me.”
                                            b.b. bristow

Bob Craig, Elder