Fresh Wind

Wind of the Spirit
image courtesy photobucket.com

My husband had been ill, and it had been some time that we were not attending a church.  Instead we watched some excellent Christian TV broadcasts that fed our spirits.

Then our long time friends moved from Southern California to live in our city. While they were house hunting they stayed with us, and it was nice for them to be there.

My friend wanted to find a church, so I told her I would go with her to visit churches in our town until we found one she liked. Each church seemed to have a personality. At some we were warmly welcomed, and other churches looked at us as if we were intruders.

There was one church my friend liked and she told me that she wanted to attend there. She and her husband became members of that church, and I returned home to watch TV.

My friend is very outgoing and one day at a craft fair in our down town plaza, she met a Christian lady, who told her that she and her husband were thinking of starting a church here in our city. “Oh,” my friend volunteered, “You must call my friend Hazel and she will help you.” 

To make a long story short, they did contact me and I suggested a place that would be reasonable to rent Sundays mornings for a beginning.  “What will you be calling your church.” I asked.  The Pastors wife replied, “We already have a name and it will be called FRESH WIND.  This church will bring a fresh wind of the Holy Spirit to this city.”

The first Sunday there was nine of us in attendance, and before long others joined and our ranks grew.

A year quickly went by and our Pastor had heard of a building that had recently been occupied by another church, and it was available full time. We moved. The new place was soon filled, services were good, and new people were being added.

One Sunday shortly after we were settled in, some visitors came bringing with them a framed and neatly typed prophesy about God sending a Fresh Wind of the Holy Spirit to our city, and how the Glory of the Lord would bless the efforts of the congregation. Our Pastor graciously hung it on the church wall.

When someone gives you a “WORD from the Lord,” it is best to receive it politely and then patiently wait and see if it comes to pass. While our Pastors were there, blessings, salvations, re-dedications, healings, and excellent ministry did occur.

Time went by and one Sunday our Pastor announced that he and his wife were moving to Oregon to live near their daughter.  His wife had lost her job, his heart was giving him problems, and they felt God was leading them. He stated that the next week a new Pastor would be arriving.

The people were shocked and complaints were heard, but I spoke up and told the Pastor how much we loved them, and also appreciated the fact that they would not leave us without a shepherd.

image courtesy photobucket.com

The new man arrived, and the first thing he did was to change the name of the church. Although I stayed for two more years and assisted him by teaching the children and what ever else I could do, it was evident that the lovely Fresh Wind had blown in and blown out again.

It is sad when the Glory lifts, but when it does - - it is time to move on.  It was my time.

The very next Sunday I visited one of the long established churches in town and was welcomed with opened arms.

I was ready for a FRESH start and so it was!

This post is  linked to: One Word Carnival   The Word is Fresh