Twinkling Lights & Broken Branches

Storm Lilian paid us a brief but unwelcome call this month. Flowerpots were broken and trees and branches felled, a number of which continue to littler the lanes. I drove to Morecambe to see relatives; getting out of Gisburn was like completing an obstacle course. Yet one strange, positive thing happened as a result of the storm: my garden lights began working.

I had bought them in the early summer from a supermarket for a few pounds. They were solar powered, and I expected a summer’s worth of twinkling lights upon which I could gaze from the comfort of my little back room. I tried them upon opening, and then went to some trouble stretching them out along the wall and back again. And then they didn’t work. I checked the wire and connections, but to no avail. Rather than throw them away or take them back, I allowed the clematis to use them as an extra prop on its mission to cover the wall. Then, three months later, dearest Lilian's wind came and caused havoc, while kindly mending a small electrical fault.

The Lord Jesus speaks of the Holy Spirit in John 3:8:

The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every man that is born of the Spirit. (Geneva Bible)

Many act as though God’s Holy Spirit were a plaything, something they can manipulate and control, something that makes them feel better and gives them nice, gooey feelings inside, a kind of genial flatmate. Yet He is a fearfully omnipotent person of the Triune Godhead, sovereign and dreadful, terrifying and awesome, yet gentle and kind. Yield to Him, obey Him, honour Him. Never grieve Him nor blaspheme Him.