Windmills
Kinderdijk, Netherlands Photo by Karen Gibson
Decades ago, I traveled to the Netherlands with my sister Becky. Among the places we explored was a windmill museum in Leiden. That experience became the focus of the chapter, “Unique Design” in our devotional Quilting Lessons about how God uses the “wind” that we face for our good and His glory.
Recently, I had the pleasure of going back to the Netherlands with my husband, celebrating our anniversary and his retirement. During our stay, we went to Kinderdijk – a UNESCO World Heritage Site and home to nineteen historic windmills built around the 1740s. While there, we went inside a windmill and once again, I climbed the ladder-like stairs to the upper stories of the mill. At each level the inner workings revealed enormous gears and shafts. Unlike my time in Leiden, the sails of this mill were spinning in the wind, thus the inside workings were also moving and thumping.
Ladder-like stairs Photo by Karen Gibson
The old mills were used to remove water from the land thus creating usable soil for the inhabitants to farm. The Netherlands still uses these windmills, but they are now supplements for the modern pumping stations. Currently, between 17 to 20 percent of their land has been reclaimed from the sea.
Climbing the stairs, hearing the sails spin, and the heavy thumping of the gears I marveled at the ingenuity and tenacity of the builders. I am amazed how all the massive pieces function to accomplish the goal of the creators. Each part was designed to work together, and every cog, wheel, sail, and shaft were needed to move an amazing amount of water. Standing inside the building, you realize that the gears could not turn without the sails, shafts, or cogs. Every component is dependent on something else to complete its job.
Working together for a specific purpose reminds me of how God designed the Body of Christ. Like the unique elements of the windmill, each part of the Body is necessary to accomplish the goal He gave to the church. To declare Who Jesus is, why He came, that He changes lives, and drawing others into the community of Christ.
The Apostle Paul goes into this concept in 1 Corinthians 12. In that passage, he likens the Body of Christ to our physical bodies and establishes how each part of our body is necessary. Paul states in 1 Corinthians 12:18, 27 “But our bodies have many parts, and God has put each part just where he wants it … All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it.”
Photo by Karen Gibson
Reflecting about windmills, I may not be a visible sail, spinning in the wind for all to see. Instead, I may be an unseen cog, tucked deep inside the mill, helping the gears to turn the massive structure thus accomplishing a task far greater than I can do alone. Pondering the struggle of being invisible, my heart asks: Do I trust the Creator God to place me where He wants me to be? Do I trust that He has equipped me for the work He has given me? Do I trust that I am seen by Him?
Yes indeed, I can say with the writer of Hebrews 13:20-21, “Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.” Thanks be to the Creator God who equips me for every work He has given for me to do. Thanks to the Eternal God Who sees me, even when others don’t.