A Kite Without a Tail (March, 2021)

I remember from early childhood that March was the month that you could fly your kite. Mother took my sister and me to the 5 & 10 to purchase the perfect one. Now, for you that don’t know what the 5 & 10 was, it was a small store that sold a variety of items; but even then, everything that you bought wasn’t necessarily five cents or a dime. It could have been more. My kite, however, was never more than 10 cents, and my string was around 10 cents, too. So, I could have a day or more filled with adventure for 20 cents plus tax, if the weather permitted.

I could hardly wait to arrive home and assemble my kite. As soon as I completed the last step, I ran into the yard fully expecting to fly my kite. I lifted it up to the winds and ran as hard as I could trying to get my kite to fly. It might gain a few feet, but it made circular motions over and over and then would eventually plow into the ground. I got so frustrated that I couldn’t get it to fly.

I mentioned my grandfather in my February newsletter. He was the “whiz bang” in flying kites, so I was quick to ask him for help. It wasn’t just opening the wooden pieces; stretching the kite and taping; nor carefully attaching the string; but he insisted that you must attach a tail made of short cloths tied together. …Well, I didn’t read that in the steps listed inside my kite. He knew exactly how long to make the tail based upon the length and width of the kite and the intense of the wind. Sure enough, the winds would catch my kite and lift it beautifully into the skies. I didn’t have to run or make much effort in making my kite fly.

What was the point of the tail? The tail makes the kite fly more stably because it adds the needed weight and drag to its lower end. Oftentimes, God’s people desire to soar with Him, but they do not have stability. They are not stable because they are not rooted in Him; not rooted in His Word. They are like a kite without a tail. The winds of trouble come their way, and they are tossed about. Ephesians 4:14 Amp. says, “So that we are no longer children [spiritually immature], tossed back and forth [like ships on a stormy sea] and carried about by every wind of [shifting] doctrine…”

Notice, that the Scripture declares that if we are not rooted in the Word of God, we will not have stability. We will be “tossed back and forth” like the kite without a tail. We read in James 1:5&6 that we are to ask God in faith not doubting His Word. James writes that if we doubt, we are like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed (or flies around in circles without stability). Verse 8 says, “A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.” The man is not stable because he is of two or more opinions, rather than one; God’s Word.

My grandfather placed a tail on my kite which stabilized it in the wind. This time, I simply held the kite up, and the wind lifted it. It was quickly carried into the skies. “But those who wait for the Lord [who expect, look for, and hope in Him] WILL gain new strength and renew their power; They WILL lift up their wings [and rise up close to God] like eagles [rising toward the sun]; They WILL run and not become weary, They WILL walk and not grow tired” (Is. 40:31 Amp.)