Faith, and the Wind

Some time since, in the early spring, I was going out at my door when round the corner came a big blast of east wind-defiant and
pitiless, fierce and withering-sending a cloud of dust before it.

I was just taking the latchkey from the door as I said, half impatiently,
"I wish the wind would" -I was going to to say change, but the
word was checked, and the sentence was never finished.

As I went on my way, the incident became a parable to me. There came an angel
holding out a key, and he said:

"My Master sends thee His love, and bids me give you this."
"What is it?" I asked wondering. "The key of the winds," said the angel and disappeared.

Now indeed should I be happy. I hurried away up int the heights whence the
winds came, and stood amongst the caves, "I will have done with the east
wind at any rate-and that shall plague us no more," I cried and calling
in that friendless wind. I closed the door, and heard th echoes
ringing in the hollow places. I turned the key triumphantly., "Thee," I
said, "nw we have done with that."

"What shall I choose in its place?" I asked myself, looking about me. "The south wind is
pleasant"; and I thought of the lambs, and the young life on every hand,
and the flowers that had begun to deck the hedgegrows. But as I set
the key within the door, it began to burn my hand.

"What am I doing?" I cried; 'who knows what mischief I may bring about? How do I
know what the fields want! Ten thousand things of ill may come of this
foolish wish of mien."

Bewildered and ashamed, I looked up and prayed that the Lord would send His angel yet again to take the key; and
for my part I promised that I would never want to have it any more.

But lo, the Lord Himself stood by me. He reached His hand to take the key;
and as I laid it down, I saw that it rested against the sacred
wound-print.

It hurt me indeed that I could ever have murderer against anything wrought by Him who bare such sacred tokens of His
love. Then He took the key and hung it on His girdle.

"Dost THOU keep the key of the winds?" I asked.

"I do, my child," He answered graciously.

And lo, I looked again, and there hung all the keys of my life, . He saw my look of amazement, and asked, "Didst
thou not know, my child, that my kingdom ruleth over all?"

"Over all, My Lord?" I answered; "then it is not safe for me to murmur at
anything?" Then did He lay His hand upon me tenderly, "My child," He
said, "thy only safety is, in everything, to love and trust and praise.