kites

Kites are my new love language.

I used to feel most loved, most connected to the bigger picture God has for His children when I saw a brilliant sunset. But now that feeling is most evoked by kites.

Not the elaborate canvas ones controlled by a billion strings and ties.

No, rather the opposite.

Seasons are changing here, and a changing of seasons brings windy days. Perhaps the winds before a storm, or just the wind that helps move the clouds out of the way for the sunshine to burst through.

As I drive my little green vehicle into the compound during this season of changing seasons, I look around for the magic. Small children, dusty faces and shoeless feet, scrambling around every gutter and trash pile with their fellow artisans. The biggest smiles and belly laughter mark the sign of the ultimate treasure found: a plastic grocery bag fully intact. Celebration is surely needed for this crucial step. Hands raised in the air and audible cheering, kite production is now beginning. Each child helps another find his or her own bag until the pack of children is walking proudly with bags in hands.

Large bags holding the most prized food staple are the next treasure to be found. One bag is ripped apart by dozens of tiny hands until each child has a strand of plastic strings long enough to fly his kite.

The first steps, marked by sheer excitement and a sense of adventure are calmed for the last and final step: assembly. Those packs of children are seen congregating in gutters or on any free patch of dirt with their plastic bags, plastic strings, and the 2 sticks they acquired along the journey. Hands move quickly, with minds racing for the adventure ahead.

And just like that, the kites are ready.

On these most magical, grace-filled days, winds aren’t seen as bad. The changing of seasons isn’t intimidating. The upcoming storm doesn’t incite fear, but rather opportunity.

And on these days, above the concrete houses, the trash-filled gutters, the dusty roads and the (still) shocking qualities of living, rise the most beautiful, most courageous, most awe-inspiring kites. Meters high in the sky, flapping in the wind, being held and controlled by the happiest and proudest children.

Hope rises above the pain. Joy flies high. Love is on display for all to see. Fear is no match.

And God displays His glory by saying, “My banner over you is LOVE.” (Song of Solomon 2:4).

The bravest, craftiest little souls have opened my eyes to the beauty of God’s love, the grace that can be found in any situation. For that I am so grateful.

In this season of changing seasons, accompanied with strong winds and imminent storms, I will gather my few materials, my little bag, my sticks, my strand of strings, the little I can gather up on my own. And I will catch the wind and fly my kite high. With a smile on my face and joy in my soul, I will fly my kite high above the hardship, far beyond the difficulty.

Because I have a Father whose banner over me is love.