Shifting Winds

The hug of familiarity embraced my heart this week as we drove into the North Carolina mountains. Adventures can be great, but rehearsed traditions bring grounding and comfort. From childhood memories that Russ and I have carried on to our children, I have felt an extra measure of warmth from our mountain routines this year.

One of our traditions is to go on the same hike, bringing the same snack to eat at the same halfway point. We climb the same tower, gazing over the same landscape. After making our descent, we reward ourselves with the same three pizzas we order from the same restaurant. Every year. Copy, paste.

This year as we approached a clearing in our hike, I felt a shifting wind that seemed ominous. Gorgeous, but threatening clouds swept across the wide, open sky.

I couldn’t help but feel that the shifting wind was also a hint at what is on the horizon for our family. In addition to Emma’s transition to college, other “shifting winds” stirred anxiety in my heart. As I watched the clouds gather, I was tempted to fear, but by God’s grace, I was comforted by a verse in the Psalms I read last week:

He will not fear bad news; his heart is confident, trusting in the Lord. Psalm 112:7

Rain clouds meant bad news in my mind. Other challenging aspects in our hike this year compounded the fear that weighed heavily on my heart, and I was tempted to change course. I wanted to trust in what I thought would be more comfortable.

I was ready to turn around with one family member, but rooted in tradition, and relying on the radar that seemed promising, Russ was determined and kept us moving forward.

I’m so glad he did.

We made it to the pinnacle of our hike, and while J’s physical abilities present limitations to what used-to-be (and, yes, I grieve those losses), I was reminded that my comfort and confidence isn’t rooted in the “what-used-to-be’s” of life.

Most of us climbed to the top of a tower that is at the midway point, and we could see the “bad news” coming. A rain shower was coming towards us. And it was beautiful. Even comforting.

Shifting winds and storms will keep coming in life, but our confidence isn’t found in the absence of storms. It’s found in the presence of our Lord.

We made our descent in a light rain, making us a little damp, but all seven of us made it. Another year. Another tally mark in our traditions.

While our hike didn’t turn out to be as bad as I forecasted, life isn’t always that way. The promise of Psalm 112:7 isn’t that bad news won’t come. It will. We won’t always have a favorable outcome. Yet our hearts can remain confident in our unchanging Lord and His faithfulness, not in our circumstances, but in His love.

Winds will shift and change, yet we can be held steady by the One who never changes.