03/15/2026
The wind is kicking up outside. 50 mph today. Our little old house is creaking and I can hear things blowing around outside. My wind chimes have already been silenced. Too tangled to carry on with their work. The horse blanket, secured on the pipe rail fence has taken up the tempo. One of the straps is keeping a reliable tin-y beat. I love the big whooshes of the gusts. The dogs are curled up under soft blankets. All except itty bitty Mae who has chosen proximity to me over the fuzzy warmth of the blanket. My husband is sprawled out on and supported by the recliner. What a perfect afternoon.
In the ancient Hebrew that Jesus (Yesuah) would have read, Ruach (ROO-akh) is the word for wind. Like many ancient Hebrew words it has a second meaning, Spirit. It is the same word used in Genesis “…and the Ruach moved over the waters…”.
Today Ruach is having her way outside our perfectly creaky old house, and somehow, everyone has found rest inside it. Even me.
If you’re curious Ruach is pronounced ROO-akh. The ch at the end is not like church, it’s a soft gutteral sound like the Scottish loch or the German Bach. A breathy two syllable whispered rasp with the emphasis on the beginning and a beautiful throaty exhale at the end.
That’s kind of remarkable if you think about it…
The very pronunciation of the word requires a breath. A small exhale. You cannot say Ruach without releasing something from deep in your chest.
The ancient Hebrews named the Spirit of God with a word that makes you breathe to speak it. You experience it. That was not an accident. Curated with love for you into a written word nearly 3,000 years before you ever met it here, before you ever said it out loud for the first time.
You are so loved.
“The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” John 3:8
