Last Christmas my wife and I were given a kite. It's one of those really large ones that requires two handles and gives you a pretty good work out. You might have seen them flown on the beach before. Where we live there is always plenty of wind so a kite was a great present.

It's nearly impossible to fly this kind of kite alone. Without having someone to help you set it up, get it started, and put it away, it's more than you bargained for. I learned this the hard way.

I set out to fly our new kite on my own one windy Saturday morning. I pulled it out of the bag that we store it in and began to unwind the spools of thin rope. It didn't take long for me to realize that this was going to be very challenging. The wind was whipping the kite around even before I could finish setting up.

So I decided to stand it up against a large light post until I could get the rope taut and the kite ready for flight. Before I knew it, the kite was tangled around the light post and my plan was falling apart. As I began to untangle the rope the wind picked up even more violently and the tangled knots began to tighten. It was then that I realized that doing this alone was incredibly foolish. I wished I had been wise enough to bring someone with me. The situation was becoming more and more hopeless.

I've tried flying solo in my spiritual life as well. It turned out to be an even more foolish endeavor than my kite flying experience. God has given each of us two very special gifts, Jesus and his church, so that we never have to be alone. It is good for us to be part of a community of fellow believers that are striving to follow his son, Jesus.

It's easy to think that we are strong enough, courageous enough, or smart enough to fly solo through this life. If that's our plan, sooner or later, our lives will become a tangled mess. There is someone who will never leave us alone even in the most difficult moments. Jesus told his followers that even until the end of this life he would never leave them. His promise is also for you and me.

Eventually I was able to untangle the kite. Likewise, in my spiritual life, when I began to take hold of the gifts of Jesus and his church, the spiritual knots began to untangle.

There is someone who will never leave us
If I can help you to trust more in Jesus' commitment or if I can help get you connected to a church family near you . . . I want to. Write me at info@hopeforlife.org and visit our website www.hopeforlife.org. I look forward to hearing from you.

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