Volume 26, Issue 3
WisconsinChristianNews.com
Page 31
Listen To the Wind
By Lynn Fredrick Summer 2025 Recently, my wife Terry and I were on a 2-day wilderness, pack in, trout fishing, camp out in one of the beautiful
singing softly. After hours of looking, I finally see him skirring among the alders. It’s a male American Redstart warbler. He is never more than 30 or 40 feet away. He is very small and mostly black. If he wasn’t singing, the sound guiding my eyes, and a patch of sunlight piercing through the shadows illuminat- ing his small patches of red, all we would have ever known was his voice. Fishing is more difficult today, but we still harvest four browns and one brook trout. It is never fun to leave, but by mid- afternoon we are packed up for the gru- eling, all up hill, climb out of the river valley. All the way out, the warbler ac- companies us, gently singing to us all the way. The American Redstart follows with us, back in, to get the second set of back packs. The singing companion again accompanies us on the one hour climb out to our truck. When the truck is loaded, he has van- ished to where he came from. What in the world was that all about? We can’t help but think that the warbler repre-
national forests of Wisconsin. It had been several years since we were able to go to one of our most favorite places in the world. We were loaded with gear and anticipation in experi- encing the beauty of the wilderness river valley and landing some of those elusive brown and brook trout that hide there. We were abundantly blessed with the beauty as we hiked into the valley looking for the land- marks that would guide us to our des- tination. Upon arrival, we dropped our heaviest packs and headed back to the truck for two more packs. Aging has notified us to not try to carry everything in one trip. The second ar- rival was even better than the first. The
total time to get all in was two hours, but now we could stay to bask in the enchantment and mystery of this secret location in God’s great garden. First things first, at the shore of the water. Throw out two lines tipped with hooked night crawlers that we gathered several evenings ago back home. Now, we set up camp. A little hike to the side puts us in a spring water stream, a little lower because of the area drought conditions, but we find a spot to drop in our water filter intake and begin hand pumping ice cold water into a drinking flask and a fold up two-gallon container. We were both in need to take in some of that water also. Now to set up the tent, and all the gear that goes into a camp, including digging a latrine. Always checking the lines, “fish on” was heard frequently. God indeed blessed the harvest of fish. By evening we had each caught our limit of three trout, all browns, two of them were 16 ½ inch beauties in each of our creels. We cleaned the fish and put them on ice in the cooler we packed in. Now, we could just relax in our outdoor restaurant and order up the special for the evening meal. Just add water to the dry food pack and bring to a boil over a small camp stove produced chili/mac and a side of broccoli for our dinner in this, open air, water front kitchen/dining room.
sented the same message we heard in the wind. “I am with you wherever you go.” This was certainly the outstanding message, from God, to us on our special wilderness outing. On our drive back to civilization and our home, I couldn’t help but remember my childhood. My grandmother, Nora, had a great impact in my life. She single handedly prayed my mom, dad and their three boys all into knowing her best Friend, Jesus, as our Lord and Savior. When I was very young, she taught me my first lesson of God making the clouds His chariot and that He rides on the wings of the wind. There was a thunder storm going on outside our home. The kind that makes most folks head for the basement. My grand- mother, of pure German descent, went to the picture window and pulled back the drapes. She motioned to me saying, “heir Lynn, come here.” Looking out the window, there was house- rattling thunder booming at a level you could feel and the light- ning that followed would illuminate the large mature trees circling our home. They were swaying and bending in the wind to the near breaking point. Completely calm and absolutely unafraid, she put her hand on my shoulder and waved her other hand and arm across the landscape framed in the window and spoke, “be- hold the power of God.” Whether it be the gentle breeze, a gusty wind or the fury of a storm, listen to the wind. Listen to hear, see and feel the pres- ence of God. God’s message, to you and me could be directly from Him or carried by His angel messengers. Listen ….. listen to the wind. Lynn Fredrick is the author of “Stand Firm,” a recovery program to help transform your life by using the divine power of God’s Word. LynnFredrick.com
The events of the day had filled our senses and blocked some of the reality of the wilderness. The sound of a wolf’s howl in the distance reminds us that we are in the living room of many ani- mals, some friendly and some not so. The not so, is the new in- formation that a mated pair of cougars with offspring are in the north country. Previous to this, cougar sightings have been an occasional male passing through en route to the northeast United States. But a mated pair will likely stay. It’s been breezy all day and the wind swirling in the valley trees makes for some interesting sounds. Darkness is upon us as we crawl into the tent for the night. Now, in the darkness, it is easy for the mind to imagine things created by the many different sounds. Soon I hear, “what’s that?” “It’s the wind,” I reply. After a short time “what’s that,” is whispered again. “Listen,” I respond. “Listen to the wind, it’s talking to us. God has a message for us.” Hebrews 1:7 informs us that God makes His angels wind. Psalm 104:3 reveals that God makes the clouds His chariot and He rides on the wings of the wind. Listen to the wind and you will hear the whisper of His voice. “I am with you, be strong and courageous, I am with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9. “I will never leave you.” Deuteronomy 31:8. “My right hand upholds you through the watches of the night.” Psalm 63:8. On the wings
of the wind God and His angels bring words of com- fort and strength. His message brings rest and deep sleep and we are well rested as the day light comes. Campfire coffee is on my mind. Coffee never tastes so good as it does watching the steam rise off the water, totally hidden in the wilderness from the view and sounds of civilization. There is a new sound this morning that accompanies the occa- sional, “fish on.” I know the voice; it is the voice of a warbler. No matter where we go about the campsite or up and down the water’s edge. He is right there
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