In the Wind

Watching the heavy winds outside our kitchen window recently made me think of how the wind represents life.  Sometimes, it's calm.  At other times, one feels the gusts, the moans, the storms.  Larry and I attended a benefit performance recently for a young woman who had been injured while performing a circus aerial act and who was now on the long road to recovery.  With grace and dignity, the girl walked onto the stage on the arm of her brother, each step still somewhat of a labor.  At the end of the show, to a standing ovation, she performed a portion of her aerial act.  As I held my breath and applauded thunderously, I was reminded of my own recovery from a benign tumor diagnosed in my back  1 1/2 years ago. The growth had consumed a portion of my spine, causing me to suddenly become paralyzed.  One of my legs was affected much more than the other and, like the young woman, my gait was such that my affected leg had to be coaxed to cooperate. Both that young woman and I are healing, thanks to modern medicine, the grace of God, and a tenacity that makes us want to be whole again.  The circus aerialist is once again high up in the air.  She and I have experienced some of life-wind's gusts, have learned to go with the flow, and know that while there will be storms, there is also a calm breeze ahead.