The Sacred Companionship of Wind

I recently returned from Malta. The island where the apostle Paul was shipwrecked on his way to Rome. The ancient stepping stone of an island between Italy and North Africa. The island that is surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea and has the steady presence of wind.  

Every day, the wind accompanied me as I explored the island, whether I invited her to join me or not! Some days, the wind was cold, wild, and strong, whipping the waters and dashing the waves against the rocks. Other days, she was warm and gentle, tender and soft. Other days, the wind played hide and seek, whisking me off my feet as I rounded a corner. A shift in the direction or intensity of the wind indicates a change is happening, be it a storm, warmer weather, or calmer seas. The wind, sometimes howling, sometimes whispering, sometimes hidden, always invisible, yet ever present where I was and companioning me.  

I began wondering about the presence of wind in sacred Scripture and what wind might want to show and tell me today. The first mention of wind in the Bible is in Genesis 1:2, where it is referred to as the "ruach" of God hovering over the dark, watery chaos. Ruach is a Hebrew word meaning breath, wind, or a person's vital life energy. All three meanings are used, and in many ways interchangeable, in Scripture.  

The very first time a word or phrase is mentioned in Scripture is significant because the meaning of the word establishes a precedent or a pattern that can be seen throughout the rest of the Bible. It is almost always the most complete and accurate meaning of the word serving as a key to understanding the word’s biblical concept.  But it also provides a foundation for its fuller development in later parts of the Bible.   

The first mention of wind is significant because it introduces the concept of God's presence and creative power. It sets the stage for the creation narrative, highlighting the role of God's spirit in bringing order, meaning, and beauty out of chaos.  

I recalled stories in the Scriptures where God’s animating spirit, breath, wind brought order, meaning and beauty out of chaos. I also began to remember times in my own life where God’s breath, wind, spirit brought order, meaning, and beauty into the chaos of my life and soul.  

To bring voice and honor to the sacred companionship of Wind throughout history and my time in Malta, I wrote:  

The Sacred Companionship of Wind  
 invisible but visible  
i feel the wind
gently brushing my cheek
hear the wind            
crashing against the rocks
smell the wind
giving evidence of a fresh rain and decaying death
taste the wind            
in the droplets of salt water it brings to my tongue  
 just think
the Wind blew
 the world began
the Wind descended
Jesus was baptized with power and authority
the Wind rushed
a people were authorized with courage and hope  
 whispering and blowing
sailing and waltzing
gusting and howling  
invisible but visible      

The Wind
 creating worlds
empowering Christ
 making a church possible
 inviting
 Mary into the impossible
 Sarah to the unimaginable
moving
beyond loss into newness
 beyond death into life
beyond chaos into new creation  
promising
 sobriety to an alcoholic
restoration for a broken marriage
reconciliation between enemies
courage and stamina for care to the suffering

  healing and generating and transforming
displacing fear
 expelling despair
freeing the
impossible 
 unthinkable
 improbable
impractical
moving boundaries of my imagination
   inaugurating life and fresh possibilities
centering the impossible
rooting the improbable
grounding the impractical
 into the dirt and messy ordinariness of my life

   I leave you today with three questions for you to consider:  
What evidence of Wind is there in your life?
How have you encountered the sacred companionship of the Wind?
When has the presence of wind-shaped a story in your life?