Friday, December 31, 2010

Reflection on Flying Kites

The March winds were perfect for flying kites, and our large school yard near our home was free of telephone wires, so it was a safe place for us kids to enjoy our kite fun.

Our local Woolworth five and dime store offered kites for ten cents a packet and we were happy to invest. A kite came in a straight package, and all you needed to do was carefully put it together, add a tail and some string, and wait for a nice breeze.

Our plan was for my brother to hold the kite up, and at a signal he would let it go. I would run and trust the winds to catch it, and that it would ascend to the sky.

Most of the time, it took a couple of tries, but soon we had our kite soaring and climbing up into the heavens. As the kite climbed, we would release a bit more of the twine to allow it more freedom - - and up it would go, higher and higher.

A tug now and then on the string would help keep the kite flying in the air. If the string was not strong enough, or had not been attached with care, it was possible for the kite to escape and go off into the world on its own. We knew this from experience as we would sadly see our precious kite floating over the horizon and eventually get tangled up in a mess in the brush of a tree.

How we wished we could have controlled our kite better so that these thickets could be avoided. Perhaps we gave it too much freedom and leniency, thus allowing the kite to think for it-self.

Oh how we blamed ourselves for not paying better attention to our kite and its adventures. Were we at fault? Actually not, but the guilt was still there.

Could we have done a better job in our preparation time, by securing the parts and pieces together with stronger tape, and twine? Probably not, but the remorse was still there.

Conceivably if kites could think for themselves, they should have paid more attention to their maker, and listened more carefully to the instructions given. Then they may have made better choices and avoided trouble.
Now they found themselves in such a mess that only God could get them out of.
If you have a kite in your household, as time goes on, it may be necessary for you to release your hold on your kite, and permit it to be it’s own kite. I do pray that they will not be hard headed as my kites sometimes were, and that they will fly quickly to their creator if they ever get into trouble.

The kite manufacturer has explicit instructions, and they are written in a big black manual, and it would be well if we all referred to them daily or even more often.

Deuteronomy 28:1-2 "Now it shall be, if you will diligently obey the LORD your God, being careful to do all His commandments which I command you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. "And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you will obey the LORD your God.”

This post has been entered in “Changing the World One Word at a Time” Please amble over and check out the other great posts at:  http://peterpollock.com/2010/12/reflection-blog-carnival/

2 comments:

Cris Ferreira said...

I like to read posts that make stop and meditate on them, and yours did. I visualized the scenario you described, and I saw myself as a beautiful kite trying to escape from my Creator, learning later the mistake I made, and returning just to find Him with a smile on His face, so glad I was back.
Great picture...

Brock S. Henning said...

This is really cool. Not only does it bring back my own memories of flying kites, I love the tie-in to family and our relationships with each other and God. Nicely done. :)