The warm salty breeze was flexing his muscles as the sun began to dip below the horizon.  My hair flapped in the wind like a tattered flag tied to the ship's mast as my feet struggle to keep me standing.  As I look toward the west I am once again amazed as I watch the artist of heaven paint on his cloudy canvas.  When I look back to earth I notice the sea oats dancing with the wind and watch as the sand spread on their dance floor is quickly blown away.

        My eyes are drawn to the sea bird hovering effortlessly above my head.  I watch as he glides on the invisible current washing over us and seems to float as naturally as a duck on water.  He never flaps his wings, he never struggles against the strong gust of air; he simply stretches out his wings and rides the winds like a kite rising higher as a contrary wind only pushes it upward.  As I watch my feathered friend sail out of sight I can’t help but notice that we have very different ways of dealing with the same blast of air; what weights me down is merely the fuel that powers his flying machine.

        Adversity can either destroy us or it can build us up, and it all depends on how we choose to response to our difficulties.  Our problems can either push us down or they can give us wings, and the choice is ours.  Our attitude toward hardships, harsh conditions and handicaps determines their impact on our life.  We do not have to be victims of our circumstances when we can meet the problem and allow it to make us stronger.  When we are faced with difficult situations we can choose to rise above the situation and use it as a stepping stone.

        Life is filled with many storms. These squalls surge across everyone’s horizon. We all need them because they are sent to make us stronger and wiser.  A smooth sea never made a skillful mariner.  It is when we face the fierce winds of adversity and transform them into stepping stones that we realize how important they are to our lives.  Just like storms force an oak tree to send its roots deep into the earth, we become more stable when we learn to ride the winds of adversity.  Happiness is a choice; choose to soar above your problems.

Something to think about:

• Ask not that all troubles end, for when troubles end, life ends too.

• It is trial that proves one thing weak and another strong. A house built on the sand is in fair weather just as good as if built on a rock. A cobweb is as good as the mightiest cable when there is no strain upon it.

• Adversity is the sand in the oyster; the irritant that ultimately produces the pearl.

• Remember the tea kettle: when it’s up to its neck in hot water; it sings.

• The human soul, beaten down, overwhelmed, faced by complete failure and ruin, can still rise up against unbearable odds and triumph.

• What we call adversity, God calls opportunity.

• We cannot direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails.

Thankful for the wind
Rickey Moore