Balloons

Inspiration – “The Breath of God”
a :  a divine influence or action on a person believed to qualify him or her to receive and communicate sacred revelation
b :  the action or power of moving the intellect or emotions
c :  the act of influencing or suggesting opinions
2:  the act of drawing in; specifically :  the drawing of air into the lungs

Do you like balloon animals? Or not just animals, balloons in themselves?? You know, I can’t resist them. I also find that every kid and adult wants to play with them. We can be amazed how artist shape and create with them. We can be held captive that they can be made into animals, shapes, objects, and some balloons can be made to carry people.

    You have various types of balloons. Round ones, big ones, small ones, long ones. There are water-balloons, party balloons… There are Hot Air-balloons and helium balloons which can be made to carry objects and or people.
    The thing about balloons is they have no control of themselves, but drift with the wind and current. They rise and fall with the temperature and with the drafts, or the forces that influence their direction.
    The balloons themselves cannot take credit for what they are, or what they do. They can only be blown up, twisted and tied by the one who is in control and used for it’s intended purpose.
    I am not in-control. I am not too sure that I am one of theses balloons. Sometimes, I feel I am being twisted and distorted into some shape. I can feel the twists and bending of the Master’s hands, but can’t tell what form I am taking. I have seen some balloons pop while being twisted to much, or having to much air, and I can’t help but to wonder if I am at this point.
    I can feel the pressure, the stretching.. One more twist and it’s over. But He isn’t done. No, I think I am more than just this one balloon. I am being fashioned with many.. Each part of me is a separate color and shape. He is bending every part of me. He is twisting and tying every part into a sequence. And there are areas that He has blown up and twisted that could not handle the pressure. Areas where the pressure was greater than the fabric of my being, and those areas have given way. They have burst under the hand of the Master.
    I ask for peace and rest, and His hands give form by bending my will. I ask for comfort from the areas that have popped, and what happens is be ties on another.. Reshaping. Reconstructing.. As one poet put it, being compared to a living sacrifice, “I crawl off the offer and with my smoke-filled lungs I cry for freedom.”
    Why can’t I be filled with helium. People love helium balloons. They are used for parties, and decorations. Kids and adults will suck in the helium out of them to make their voices change. If I was one people could breathe me in and laugh. Or like a science experiment they could let me go and I could float away out of sight.. If out of sight, out of mind. Maybe there I could find peace. But again, reminded by the Great Psalmist, “Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in hell, you are there!”
    Or why not make me a hot air-balloon so that I can be big and beautiful..? Used to take people higher and make them feel smaller in the vastness of the sky looking down on earth. Oh that I might be used over and over, filling people with awe and wonder at your creation seen from above. Maybe I can’t hold all the hot air. Maybe I can’t be filled with such views of grandeur or be tempted with such splendor..
    One thing, if not two, is for sure. He who creates wills and shapes as He chose. And at last, ever balloon will pop.. All the air will leave the balloon. It is not made to last but for a moment. For “All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever.”
    It’s not the shape that remains. It’s not the beauty that is created. It is not about the materials it is made out of. It is about the One who wills.. Who gives and takes away. It is His breath that will remain forever. The vessels come and go. The carriers of the breath are just that. Carriers! Taking His form. Taking His shape, to give meaning and bring purpose to those around us. We are just the carriers of that Breath.. The Inspiration! “And He (God) breathed into man the breath of life.” So, may I breath in deeply. May I stretch to hold more and bend to give resemblance to that which reflects the Creator.