The Year of New Beginnings

The weather report for Seattle was good for New Years Day. However, the weather man forgot to check the wind report as a biting wind blew from the east. It didn't deter many however, who knew that gathering to welcome in 2008 as the year of new beginnings was far more important than their comfort.
We started out down below the Sammamish Town Commons where we were protected from the wind. As we read Scripture and listened to the Shofar blow, we were reminded that it is easy to follow Christ when it is comfortable. Halfway through the gathering, we left the protected area and went up the stairs straight into the wind. At first it felt like the roaring lion, but after a time many of us began to realize that the wind was like the wind that Jesus described in John 3: the wind that blows where it chooses or the wind of Pentecost of Acts 2: the wind that was like a rush of a violent wind.
One person described it a purifying. She said it felt like all the old was being swept off of her and that the biting wind opened her up for the reality of a new way of walking through life. Another said that the discomfort of the deep chill made her realize that following Jesus is never comfortable; that he calls out of comfort into a life of obedience.
I was just grateful. I was grateful for people hungry enough to know Jesus to come on a holiday (although it did not conflict with the Rose Bowl), bold enough to stand outside to worship in a public place, and humble enough to know that they need the purifying wind of the Holy Spirit in their lives.
How about you? Where is the fresh wind of the Holy Spirit blowing on you? I would love to hear all about it.