One windy evening in the summer of 1996, I was inspired to write a song. At that time, I had just come from a youth meeting. I was the associate pastor of a local church and involved in its 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 besetting their families, friends, professionals, and workplaces.
The situation at that period seemed so hard that everyone felt they wanted to go somewhere else.
After 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 I kept singing with the two guitar chords I was playing. I hummed the rest of the melody until I became drowsy and realised 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 situations.
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 phrase “endless sea” refers to the life horizons and the many possibilities 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 refers to heaven, the higher ground where true friends are all we can see and meet.
You may view the complete lyrics of “Summer Wind” at https://fromworrytoglory.com/summer-wind-in-auckland/
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