Who's Flying Your Kite?

Many, many moons ago, I had the privilege to do a topic at a Mother/Daughter banquet at the church I was attending. The theme for that particular year was a "Calendar Party" with 12 groups of ladies dressing 12 tables that corresponded to a month of the year. The table I was assigned to was March. We ladies decorated the table with bright colors and a beautiful centerpiece. We used pinwheels as part of the theme and kites hung above the table. I was given the dubious job of "delivering" our topic to the rest of the ladies. (each of the 12 tables had a designated spokeswoman - bless her soul.) Now mind you, I'm not very good at these kind of things. Standing in front of anyone and delivering any kind of message makes me quake in my boots and my mouth gets dry as cotton. . . . I sweat just thinking about it! Anita (who was part of 'March') came up with the topic idea and presented it to me - I did try - very hard - to get her to do it, but nope, no way. Sweaty palms here. So, I bit the bullet, took the topic and ran with it, and did my best to come up with something that was befitting and somewhat understandable.
So without further delay - here is what I chose to say:

When we think of March we usually think of wind and what goes better with wind than kites?

Kites are wind supported devices (consisting of a wooden or similar framework, covered with paper, cloth, or a synthetic material) used as a rudimentary airfoil, flown for pleasure or "work" or study. (yaaawn. . . .)

In many ways our lives can be compared to kites. Let's look at mothers and their daughters for instance.

The mother holds the string of daughter's life . Like flying a kite, we want our daughters to reach higher and higher (or grow stronger and stronger - pyhsically, emotionally and spiritually). The kite can be set aloft by the action of the wind on its surface - (compare to the teaching process). It's distance or height is controlled from the ground by "playing out the string".

Once we get our kites aloft though, our job is just beginning. We really have to work at keeping that kite in the air. There are power lines, trees, buildings and other obstacles to take into consideration. We have to be careful and maneuver this kite thru these obstacles or trials , always watching, always praying, lest they become entangled.

But what happens if your kite does go out of control and it starts dipping, curving erratically, spinning uncontrollably or gets entangled? (welcome to adolescence!) What if the string breaks and your kite plummets to the ground?

You have a choice to make:
you run after that kite, pick it up, brush it off, mend it and get it right back in the air . . .or
you just stand there wringing your hands and leave the kite laying.

Most of us are right back at that kite! We get her back into the air. Then we stand back long enough to take in the breathtaking beauty of our kite. But . . . we realize . . . . we are no longer in control of the string. We were so involved in flying our kite, caring for it, that we didn't notice that God now has the string. The transfer was so subtle, but so needed.

At second glance we notice our kites are all grown up. Now she has to make the choices. She is flying up there, but she will fall if she doesn't yield to the string holder - her lifeline.

I realize that some of you may not have children. But the same applies to us. Just like the kite, we need an experienced string holder. Without One we would be aimlessly meandering with no purpose or hope. But with God as our string holder we can soar, never fearing our string will snap. We may dip, or spin a little but God is in control. He will "play out our string" to keep us away from the power lines, trees and buildings. His strong hands will safely and lovingly hold the string, giving us direction, purpose and meaning to our lives.

So. . . .how about you - are you drifting around aimlessly or is God holding your string?