Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. Jeremiah 29:12 NKJV
During my sermon prep this week, I was reminded of a special faith-building experience I had with my son. It happened shortly after we were baptized … many years ago!
It was a beautiful day and my husband and I decided it was time to fly our kite! It was an expensive one, a gift from our wedding, and we hadn’t flown it much for fear it would be lost or damaged! But, our son, who was 5 years old at the time, was persistent in his desire to fly this kite… and it was fun to see the joy on his face as we took it off the wall.
As parents, you know there is risk anytime you let your little ones learn a new skill and, we were pretty sure this kite was too big for him. It was about as tall as he was and certainly wider! Even so, we gathered the string and the tail, and headed out to our new subdivision that was surrounded by several acres of woods.
Now my husband was very patient while teaching Matthew to properly cast the kite into the air and how to let out the string. There was a good breeze so the kite took off easily! Needless to say, we were all very joyful watching that kite soar into the blue sky! But then, the big question came, “Daddy, can I fly the kite?” Now Dave did all the right things in teaching and, he was standing right there, so he invested great faith in Matthew and let him have the spool. The wind was strong and the kite was high, and the gust surprised everyone! There went our big, beautiful, expensive kite right over all those trees! "Lost, lost for good!" we thought.
BUT, here is the best part of the story…
Our little guy, who had obviously been listening in Sabbath School, came to me and said, “Mommy we need to pray to Jesus!” The FAITH of a little child, not complicated, no doubts. And of course I said, “You’re right buddy we do!” but, in my mind I’m praying, “Oh Jesus please answer the prayer of this boy!” Honestly, my belief wasn’t as strong as his, because this seemed so trivial. Sometimes we doubt that God is able, or even listening; we can become jaded as time passes especially, when religion has become just a form, and besides God has bigger things to worry about! But, we prayed… then Matthew and his dad trudged into the woods.
They walked in a straight line to where they assumed the kite would be hanging in some tree. Then, I see them heading back with BIG SMILES and THE KITE! I shouted, "NO WAY, ALREADY?!" Yes, Jesus answered that little boy’s prayer!! There it was, right in the middle of about two acres of trees all nestled in a special little clearing! Jesus flew it to the only safe spot, just waiting to be found! I believe, Jesus is always waiting for you and I to find Him too! He wants to touch our minds and hearts with a living example of His care and presence in our lives! He says you only need a mustard see of faith… and that’s not much! Best yet, our faith, will get stronger if it’s practiced day after day in the ordinary circumstances of life - just like our little boy praying that Jesus would help him find his kite!
Maranatha!
Pastor Cheri