On the Wings of the Wind

In Memory of Our Fallen Heroes

On this Memorial Day, we remember our fallen heroes and honor their sacrifices. We recall an experience in Germany where James was asked to represent the chaplaincy as soldiers who had lost their lives started the final leg of their journey home. Pat described the scene in On the Wings of the Wind.

Standing beside my husband, in the cold, but bright and sunny, morning, I looked at the nearly vacant airstrip. Only the honor guard, a bugler, and another chaplain waited to meet this flight. We watched a tiny speck in the distance grow larger and larger, then a camouflaged military jet landed and taxied to a stop in front of us.

The tailgate ramp was lowered, and the military honor guard and the chaplain walked into the back of the huge transport. The honor guard followed the chaplain out, carrying our dead soldiers wrapped in what looked to me like black leather bags.

A lump formed in my throat and tears filled my eyes as the haunting notes of “Taps” filled the air. Our fallen soldiers were then loaded onto a carrier and taken to a hearse to await the next plane and their final trip home. Later there would be military honors at their hometowns and military cemeteries, but for now there was only the stark view of death.

Tears flowed down my face as I realized I was seeing the results of the beginning of this new war on terrorism. The war would continue long after we left Europe. How many more of our brave military men and women would make the trip these soldiers were making in coffins? 

Yes, sometimes we wonder where God is, but He knows all, sees all, and hears all.
 

New Cover for On the Wings of the Wind and the Coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost

In addition to being Mother’s Day, today is Pentecost, celebrated by Christians in liturgical traditions as the birthday of the church.

The Bible (Acts 2) describes the first Pentecost:

When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit …

Though He does not come to us as tongues of fire, the Holy Spirit does come to dwell in our bodies, for our bodies are his holy temple.

On the Wings of the Wind is a series of snapshots of how the Holy Spirit interacted with us during critical times in our lives. Our goal is to provide a spiritual road map that shows how anyone can come to a closer relationship with God.

This is a fitting time to introduce our new book cover, which shows Jesus Christ along the seashore with footprints as described in the poem “Footprints In The Sand.” Two sets of footprints in the sand behind Jesus become only one set of footprints. The poem tells us that the single set of footprints illustrates the times in our life when Christ carries us. These crises in our lives give us opportunities to feel the presence of the living Christ through his Holy Spirit for it is in our weakness that He makes us strong.