Lessons Learned While Flying A Kite

 My wife and I recently celebrated our 40^th anniversary with our children and grandchildren. Our son-in-law Dave had purchased some neat kites and the grandkids were excited to try their hand at flying the kites. Occasionally someone would get careless and didn’t hold tightly to the string and a sudden gust of wind would dislodge the kite. The kite sailed along for a short while but then plummeted to earth. I was reminded of a time years earlier flying a kite with our oldest son, Jon. His kite, too, got away from him because he hadn’t held tightly to the string. I recalled how chagrined he was as we watched his kite sail away and then fall to the earth. Since it was at dusk we weren’t able to locate the kite that evening but I noted some reference points that helped us locate the kite the next morning.

There are some lessons of life we can learn from flying kites. First of all a kite needs an anchor to fly – without an anchor the kite will drift and then crash. This is true in life as well. A life without an anchor is one that is headed for disaster. The Bible instructs us that we need an anchor of faith that will hold us steady and allow us to sail freely through the winds of adversity. That anchor is to be found in the person of Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul says that “…we have fixed our hope on the living God who is the Saviour of all men, especially of those who believe.” (1 Timothy 4:10 NASB)

Eugene Peterson in The Message paraphrases Hebrews 6:18-19 this way: “We who have run for our very lives to God have every reason to grab the promised hope with both hands and never let go. It's an unbreakable spiritual lifeline, reaching past all appearances right to the very presence of God where Jesus, running on ahead of us, has taken up his permanent post as high priest for us… “

A faith that is anchored in the person of Jesus Christ will lead to a life of hope and assurance and true freedom. Some people think that freedom is freedom from restraint. But when the kite is “freed” from the restraining hand of the kite-flyer – the kite momentarily seems to be truly free – and does sail on for a short while, but without the restraining anchor the kite soon crashes to the ground. Rather than restricting me the anchor of faith is what holds me and guides me away from disaster. I have the reality and assurance of His presence and help. Our hope, the biblical writer says, is “sure and steadfast” allowing us to sail through the gusts of life.

A second lesson I learned while flying a kite is that reference points are important. Without a reference point I have no sense of direction. I’m lost. Reference points help to chart the correct path. God’s Word promises to be “a lamp to our feet and a light to our path.” (Psalm 119:105) God’s Word gives us direction helping us to live right, talk right and behave right.

A third lesson I learned while flying a kite was that spending time doing things with your children and grandchildren and listening to them is important. Children long to do things with their parents and especially with their dads. It’s a sad commentary on our society that so few dads care to spend time with their children. You can learn a lot from children when you spend time with them and listen to them.

Our grandson Luke is 8 years old. As he watched the kite being lifted up by the wind and sail merrily in the breeze he remarked: “That’s sort of like the Holy Spirit in our lives who lifts us up and carries us along and helps us. We get to see things we couldn’t see when we were on the ground.” I gained another valuable insight while flying a kite.