Kites and Strings

My late, great uncle Joe loved kites. He was an engineer through and through and he loved creating new designs and seeing what he could do both in the design of kites and with the materials he had available to him. He once taught us how to make kites out of some dowells a bit of tape and a garbage bag!

But designing and building a kite is really only half the fun. The true test of the kite came when he would attach a string and see what the fruits of his labor could do. Often a new design would debut at the Longbeach Kite Festival. The wind would kick up and he would unfurl his creation allowing it to soar high into the air along with hundreds of others all around him.

I liked the kites, but I never had the passion and love that he did. It was fun to watch, but I couldn't do it for an entire weekend. I now have a better appreciation for kite, however, due to a prayer uttered by my friend Pat.

The 77's have a song called "Kites Without Strings" (Pray Naked album) in which the singer sings "Kites without strings go on to bigger things". Pat used the analogy to say just the opposite, and I think Pat is right: Kites without strings end up in trees.

The reason Pat mentioned kites was as an analogy for marriage. In order for a kite to catch wind and soar to great hights it needs the tension of the string. No tension, no flight.

There is a great give and take between the string and the kite. It is an exquisite partnership by which the kite is able to soar, perform acrobatics, or just rest in the wind. The very thing that restrains the kite is the thing that makes its flight possible.

A person who is a visionary needs antoher to ground him. Why? Because often the one who has the vision is not the person who can accomplish it. There is a required teamwork which doesn't allow us to complete our work alone. The apostle Paul reiterates this again and again, stating the church is a body made up of many parts, an organization with many different roles, a house with varied elements.

The thing that drives me crazy about my spouse is likely the very thing I am missing in my life (by design). But it doesn't have to be an idiosyncracy or pet peeve. My wife, for example, is amazingly social. She finds and makes friends EVERYWHERE. She has no problem striking up a conversation with anyone. I, on the otherhand, am not. I have to credit our large network of friends to her. And for that I am eternally grateful.

My wife, in her social capacity, acts as the kite. I get the honor of being the string - restraining our social calendar to managable levels and keeping us at home a few nights a week. (Granted our 1.5 year old son has done much of that work for me lately). But I mustn't only be a restraint. I also need to know when to let out the tension and let her fly higher.

There is that exquisite partnership - keeping the kite flying without breaking the string or allowing it to fall to the ground. Letting out the tension when the wind is strong and pulling it in when greater tension is needed. Whether playing the part of the kite or the string (and often-times both!), we need to learn the art of staying in flight!

No wonder my great uncle Joe loved kites so much!