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It has gotten very windy these past few days in Ellensburg. Strong gusts every few minutes keep you on your toes. Just yesterday I was riding my bike on a sidewalk that winds through two tall buildings on campus. A huge gust of wind suddenly blew exactly perpendicular to the direction of my travel, it caught in the spokes of the wheels, and it actually knocked me and my bike over a few inches on the path. It was kind of scary, actually: the overpowering force. Every time I find myself surrounded by a powerful gale I can't help but feel overwhelmed by God. As the wind blows around me, almost knocks me over, almost lifts me into the air, I feel God's presence in my life. "As [I] do not know the path of the wind, or how the body is formed in a mother's womb, so [I] cannot understand the work of God" (Ecclesiastes 11:5). Sometimes I take a moment to stand there with my eyes closed and I listen. I feel like God communicates something to me through the wind. "He makes the clouds His chariot and rides on the wings of the wind. He makes the winds His messengers, flames of fire His servants" (Psalms 104:3-4). It's not usually a specific sentence that I hear. It's more like an overwhelming feeling. I get the impression that if we could feel a piece of God's indescribable love for us, it might feel something like the great gust of wind. So strong and powerful that it almost knocks us over at the same time as it practically lifts us off the ground. It's invigorating, yet it can be terrifying. Just as the wind's awesome power is used to make energy with turbines, sometimes it falls trees and shakes the rafters to the point of striking fear into our lives. "For love is as strong as death, it's jealousy unyielding as the grave. It burns like a blazing fire, like a mighty flame. Many waters cannot quench love; rivers cannot wash it away" (Song of Solomon 8:6-7). And God works through wind many times in the Bible giving life and Holy Spirit power (see for example Ezekiel 37:9 and Acts 2:2). So I came to love the wind. Godspeed as you go about your lives,
~Kay Haymaker~ **Job 42:3** |
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So I was browsing the internet today, researching for my paper, and I decided to go to my home library's site. At the top there was a banner announcing Amnesty Week. It's a campaign to welcome back all patrons to the library. Just ask your librarian and they will wipe away all of your late fees. Lost a book? No problem. Lots of fees? No problem. "Just ask," it said. Then I noticed the date. Oh my goodness! It ends today! Needless to say, I called them up right away. (Yes, I'm ashamed to admit I had fines on my card past the point of being able to check out any more books.) The conversation went something like this: Her: "Pierce County Library, Bonney Lake Branch..." Me: "Hi. I heard it is amnesty week." Her: "That's correct. Do you have fines you want waived?" Me: "Yeah...more than I care to admit." Her: "Ok. What's your card #?...There. You're home free now." Me: "That's it?" Her: "That's it." _________ I couldn't believe it could be so easy. I was so happy. It felt like the shadow from that stormy cloud in the back of my mind just dissipated. Then I realized...Why didn't anyone tell me about this? It felt so good to be forgiven all that debt just for asking. Had I not chanced upon the ad, I might have missed out on the wonderful opportunity. Just to clarify, I looked up Amnesty: (noun) a forgetting or overlooking of any past offense. Oh Geeze...I already know of an offering of amnesty...and it too is available only for a limited time. Only, no one knows for sure how short a time it will be. How many people do I know who don't know about it? All they have to do is ask, and they can have any and ALL past offenses forgiven and forgotten. How awful is it of me not to tell them about it? What kind of friend am I? "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Rom 6:23). I have a feeling most of us feel that there aren't many people who have not heard about God in our society. I know I've sometimes reasoned that way. And perhaps many have heard of God, but have they heard the whole story? That might be like someone saying, "Oh. Kayla's heard about the library already. I'm sure she knows about amnesty week." No way! I think God just used Amnesty Week at the library to remind me what it feels like to hear good news like that and what it feels like to have to figure it out on your own... |
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In this new age of the web log (a.k.a. blog), it seems that everyone and their brother has an outlet online. Everyone except me, of course. I have never felt that many people would care as much about my personal problems as to read a daily or even weekly entry online about them. Still, the idea was tempting, and I could not help feeling a little left out. It was not until recently that I discovered another type of blog. I suppose it could be considered a topical blog. This is the type of blog that centers around a subject other than the writer. Rather, the blog is full of the writer's discoveries and revelations on the topic as they engage in it. This seemed more my style. However, after perusing several collections of blogs on the web, there already seemed to be a blog on every topic imaginable. What would make mine any different? One day it hit me. On several occasions I come home from an outing or event excited to tell my mom how amazing some aspect of it was. Often she says, "Kayla, you are amazed by the smallest things." They are just little blessings in my day. Each day a new experience that makes me stand in awesome wonder of my creator. Then, as if to confirm this notion, I found myself reading the very essence of my blog in my quiet time: "Give thanks to the Lord, call on His name. Make known among the nations what He has done...tell of His wonderful acts" (1 Chronicles 16:8-9). And again the next time: "Many O Lord my God are the wonders you have done... were I to speak and tell of them, they would be too many to declare" (Psalm 40:5). So, in an effort to share this wonderful feeling of Awestruck Wonder, I plan to log these experiences here. I cannot promise daily entries, but I will attempt to update at least weekly, and I hope that you will be able to read it and be blessed by a deeper understanding of the little gifts in our lives. Godspeed, ~Kay~ **Job 42:3** |
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 Hello. My name is Kayla. I am an Elementary Education major at Central Washington University and the author of Awestruck Wonder. |
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