Walking into the Wind

03/20/07
Walking into the Wind
I walk through downtown Chicago pretty much everyday at lunch. My father (who works 3 blocks north of me) thinks I'm nuts because I usually just take my suit jacket with me and little else. Today was probably the last really cold day of the Spring and I was not about to let 30 degrees and high winds get between me and seeing the city on a bright and sunny day.
On some of the narrower streets in the city (like Clark Street for example), the wind can really howl down the streets because of the "wind tunnel" effect. Today was no exception and I struggled a bit to keep my walking pace as I walked north towards the river. I was thinking about how difficult my job has been of late. Our parent company is talking to others about mergers and layoffs have been pending in our division for several months now.
I was listening to Switchfoot's "Dare You to Move" from the "A Walk to Remember" soundtrack when I had a rather strange spiritual moment, right there in the middle of the city. All of a sudden the wind really picked up and it was hard to even move and it struck me that God was telling me that I was better than even I thought I was, that he blew the wind at that moment to pound it into my head that if I believed in Him and did my part, if I kept pacing my steps even without making a lot of visible progress, that I could surmount any problem.
The truth of the thought hit me like a hammer - you are better than you think you are, only your flesh holds you back and even then, you only need take God's hand and you can do things you never thought possible. I've always been a skeptical Bible reader, but I suddenly believed more than ever Moses leading the Jews through the Red Sea purely by the power of his belief in God.
It's so simple - you are better than you think you are if only you will trust in something bigger than yourself.
I realize that religion is not always the most popular topic on this site, so I lay this out as my simple testimony so that you may open your heart the next time you have an experience like this one.