The key of the winds

It's windy this morning and I'm struck with how timely that is for today's devotion.
Mark Guy Pearse penned a parable many years ago about a man who was met with a fierce, defiant east wind as he left his house and locked his door. The man began to grumble about the unpleasant wind, wishing it would change.
As he went on his way he was met by an angel holding a key. "My Master sends thee His love and bids me give you this." The man asked the angel, "What is it?" and the angel replied that it was the key of the winds, then disappeared.
The man was happy and hurried up the mountains to the caves from which the winds came. The first thing he did was lock the door to the cave of the troublesome east wind, happy that he would not be plagued by it anymore.
"What shall I choose in its place?", he asked himself. He pictured a gentle south wind with its pleasantness and warmth but as he put the key in the lock to free the south wind, the key began to burn in his hand. "What am I doing!", he asked himself. "How do I know if this is what the fields want?" He thought of the thousands of things that could go wrong if his foolish wish was granted. He prayed that the angel would return and take the key away from him and he promised to never ask for it again.
The Lord Himself appeared at the man's side and the man laid the key into His scarred hand, ashamed that he had ever murmured against the One Who had hung the winds. "Dost Thou keep the key of the winds?", the man asked. "I do, my child.", He answered. "Didst thou not know that My kingdom ruleth over all?"
The Lord reached down to the man and laid His hand on the man's shoulder, tenderly. "My child", He said, "Thy only safety is, in everything, to love and trust and praise."-Mark Guy Pearse (Streams in the Desert).
Wow! As I go through an "east wind" period of my journey, today I am praying that I will never be tempted to ask for "the keys of the winds". The Lord knows which wind I need and when I need it. My job is to heed the words of that parable: "Thy only safety is, in everything, to love and trust and praise."

"The Lord has made the heavens His throne; from there He rules everything."-Psalm 103:19 (NLT).

On the health front:
The latest labs indicate that my white blood cell count is continuing in a downward direction. We returned to the oncologist's office for The Nasty Shot yesterday and will go back for another today.
This is my week off from chemo and the hope is that my cell count will begin to improve during the break. Another blood draw on Monday will determine whether my chemo will resume on Thursday or if there is more Neupogen in the works. "Thy only safety is, in everything, to love and trust and praise."