View from the Plaza Prayer Station: When the Wind Blows

The wind is not my friend.  At least not at CNU.  And it is always windy at CNU!  At least twice now it has been so windy that the incredibly heavy prayer station sign has blown over as it sat in front of the chapel.  The wind off the nearby river combined with the way the buildings are situated creates quite a wind tunnel in areas of campus.  Unfortunately the knocking down of the sign has caused the top portion where it says, "How may I pray for you?" to become separated from its frame.  As I carried it to the Plaza yesterday, the top part came off in my hand while the rest slid out to the ground.  I can no longer put the small part of the sign on top of the large part.  So, yesterday I just leaned it up against the sandwich board part of the sign.  I'm hoping I can glue it all back together, good as new, but I guess on windy days I need to take that top part off anyway so that it doesn't act as a sail.

The sun was warm and the temp was near 50, but the wind made it brutal at times.  Still, I wanted to be outside, and daylight savings means that the sunlight stays on the Plaza the whole time I'm there now.  More students were outside, and I was amazed at the shorts and sleeveless dresses.  I had on long johns under my layers plus coat, scarf and gloves!  I wouldn't have needed all that if I'd been moving around, but just sitting made me a prime target for the cold wind.  There was a career day on campus, so many of the students were dressed up - but I think they had gotten their seasons confused!  A few skateboard dudes zoomed around, but not the ones I know.  I received a couple of prayer requests and spent time with a few of the Canterbury students and exchanged hellos and smiles with many passing by.  Apparently it was Appreciation of Women Day at CNU because at one point a young man came over and handed me a red carnation.  When I asked someone later what it meant, she told me it was for appreciation of women.  I had noticed women walking around with flowers.  Nice!  I put mine on top of the sign.

I have to admit that I wasn't thinking very kindly of the wind much of the day.  And yet, I don't always dislike wind.  In the summer I love how it helps keep things cooler, and when I'm warm enough in other seasons, I enjoy how the wind feels against my face.  Often I think of the wind as being the breath of God.  Ruah in Hebrew:  breath, spirit, wind.  I imagined my prayers on the breath of God, and asked God to carry blessings of love, peace, comfort, and strength on the wind as it blew through campus.  I have written about my desire to start a blessing ministry here, and yesterday I decided I wanted to try it out.  So when a student I know made a prayer request, I said a prayer, and then I offered a blessing as well.  I hope I have more opportunities to do that.  Of course, with the constant wind, I can always imagine blessings blowing out from the Plaza and swirling about the campus.

In other news, the new Admin building is nearing completion.  It will be known as Christopher Newport Hall.