My eyes flew open in the middle of the night, awakened by the sound of the wind whipping against our shutters and the hammering of the wooden screen dividing our balcony from our neighbor’s. The wind in Rome can be fierce and I’m still not used to it.

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I struggled to sleep after that, listening to the relentless pounding of the wind. My mind began to wander as I thought about the wind and who the Wind represents in our lives.

I resisted the urge to be afraid of the Wind.

I turned my mind to the Source of the wind to ask what He wanted to say to me through it. Whispered in my mind I heard, the winds of change are here. The winds of change… as the words sunk deep into my soul, I could exhale. For the first time in a long time, I could exhale.

The waiting, the not-yet-answered prayers, the struggle I’ve faced for so many years — could it be there is an end in sight? As I thought of the possibility of imminent change, I almost yearned the winds to blow stronger, to blow out all the old and bring in the new season. Excitement and hope from the depths of my spirit began to rise.

Blow, heavenly winds of miracle power! Blow, Spirit-wind that changes the hearts and minds of men! Blow, refreshing wind that carries spring on its wings. Let the winds of change come!

Peace settled in my mind and body. The Wind whispered to me again. Peace, be still. Trust me. Believe me.

I thought of how many times I’ve struggled with the confident belief that God will intervene in my painful situation. Believe me, he urges. When I’ve prayed so hard and yet it has endured year after year, I tend to question myself.

Is it me? Am I doing something wrong?

More often it’s not that I’m doing something wrong, but it’s God shaping my character through the pain and the struggle, and I need to lean on Him, not my self-created methods of coping.

It must be a constant turning to Him and laying it all down before Him.

Nevertheless, through all the different processes He is working in me, at the moment that the Wind spoke into my soul, I felt excited and relieved the resolution could be near. And the pain of the past somehow faded for a moment as the joy rose inside of me.

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I’m grateful for the words that the Wind spoke to me. I am grateful a new season is coming. I am grateful resolution is fast approaching.

This brief conversation with the Wind reminded me I am never alone. Although at times the waiting has seemed hopeless, I am encouraged by the truth – He is with me, He hears me, He holds every tear.

I choose to walk forward holding on to Peace, knowing the winds of change are coming.

Peace, be still. 

–Aletia