Fly a kite!

Let's go fly a kite
Up to the highest height
Let's go fly a kite
And send it soaring
Up through the atmosphere
Up where the air is clear
Oh, let's go fly a kite

When I left home to go to the church today I had a package. This package caused my wife to give me a funny look as I walked out the door. She usually doesn't give me funny looks, but this time she seemed slightly confused.

Probably because I was going to the church to work, and I had a kite under my arm.

You see, I've been having a problem with feeling out of touch with God. I spend a lot of time indoors, a lot of time reading, and a lot of time going going going. When this gets combined with spending my off-times (e.g.: lunch break, downtime at home, etc) indoors either catching up on shows, reading, playing games, etc, it is a recipe for me to lose step with both God and myself. So starting this week I am working to change all of this.

What does this have to do with a kite, you may ask?

Shortly after we got married Danielle bought me a kite (at my request) for my birthday. She didn't skimp either. She got me a real-deal amateur stunt kite with dual-strings. It's pretty cool, if I do say so myself. It looks like this:

To me, this kite represents not only my wife's love, but a chance to experience God's majesty and power in a simple way. It is a way for me to get out and be in the presence of my Creator and know that He is there, even if I can't see Him. It is a way for me to stop everything else, stop thinking about everything going on, and just be.

Pretty impressive for a kite, yes? Let's explore how this works, then.

Flying a kite help's me experience God's power because without him, I can't even get it off the ground. Get that? I can't fly a stinking kite without God's power. If He doesn't send wind, I cannot blow hard enough to make it budge a single inch off the ground. If I can't do something so simple as flying a kite without His help, what chance do I have to do anything else on my own?

Flying a kite lets me know that God is there because I can feel the pull of the strings. Even when I am not looking at the kite, I still feel the pull of the wind. I feel the effects of it. God is often the same way. He pulls at us, lets us know He is there by the effect He has on everything. All the goodness we see and know is because of Him. He shows us His majesty, His power, by the things He enables us to do by His power.

Finally, when you are flying a kite, especially one like mine, you can't think about too many other things unless you are prepared to crash. It takes concentration, a watchful eye, and moving in the right way to keep the kite going well. Sometimes it is important that we are able to stop, feel God in the moment, and simply be.

So go fly a kite. Any kite. Or go on a walk. Or ride a bike. Or do something to separate yourself from your normal surroundings and spend some quiet time with God. You can pick whatever you want, but make it time spent with the Master of All rather than time spent with the master of the moment. To live in the moment, free of the crashing waves of life, in order to spend time with the Maker, can bring us peace beyond what we might expect. If you make a habit of it, it will bless you greatly.

I know it has definitely blessed me.