One windy evening, in summer 1996, I was inspired to write a song. At that time, I just came from a youth meeting. I was the associate pastor of a local church and I was involved in the church’s youth ministry.
The young people shared a lot about their struggles and hardships in facing life’s realities. They also shared about the trials and challenges that were besetting their families, friends and for the professionals, their workplaces. It seemed that the situation at that period was so hard that everyone felt like they wanted to go somewhere else.
After I had dinner, I took my guitar, went to the lawn and sat on the white-painted steel chair. I strummed two chords, humming a melody while staring at the star dotted summer night sky.
Then the wind blew and the phrase that immediately entered my mind was “summer wind”. These were the beginning words that I kept singing and singing with the two guitar chords that I was playing. I hummed the rest of the melody until I became so drowsy and realized that it was ten in the evening.
The following day, with the melody still fresh in my mind, I added more words to the song. The outcome was a song reflection of what the young people shared in church and their life situation.
Basically, “Summer Wind” was a song I made in adoration of the Holy Spirit. When the wind blew that night, it reminded me of Jesus Christ who told Nicodemus that the wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit (John 3:8).
So the Summer Wind song is a prayer to the Holy Spirit asking Him to take the pilgrim to a distant star, wishing for a place where he could express his true self. The use of the phrase “endless sea” refers to the life horizons and the many possibilities that God offers to everyone. When you have faith in God, you do not mind waiting forever as long as you end up in the presence of the LORD.
The chorus petitions the Holy Spirit, asking Him to “take me to another time when I can find my peace” because genuine peace can only be found when you are in the presence of the Lord.
To many it might be a grim request to ask the Holy Spirit to “take me to a lofty place”, which definitely refers to heaven, the higher ground where true friends are all that we could see and meet.
You may view the full lyrics of “Summer Wind” at http://fromworrytoglory.com/2011/11/20/summer-wind-in-auckland/
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About the Author
Jonan is a freelance writer, blogger, copywriter, editor, and link builder.
