It was September and far from Thanksgiving, but for some odd reason, visions of the giant balloons in the Macy’s Parade kept floating through my head each night (pun intended). I had seen a video about the line handlers for balloons. While an interesting history of the tradition, I had never really considered the folks holding those lines. No doubt this is what started the dreams. My Macy’s parade balloon dreams included various balloons looming over a city, with only a few people straining at the lines to control them. By the third night of restless balloon-filled dreams, I began to put things in place. I had been feeling untethered lately. Sometimes I feel overwhelmed with self-doubt, discouragement, and guilt. Oh, I am perfectly capable of breezing through days or weeks, without a care, one step in front of the other, doing life…but there are also days, weeks, seasons, when my mind veers into rabbit holes, drags me back to the weight of past choices, or shrouds my thoughts with hopelessness and anxiety concerning little and large aspects of my world. It is too easy to get caught up in the whirlwind of life.
Here is the thing, when conditions are perfect, it does not take many line handlers to maneuver the giant balloons…but because things can quickly become imperfect, numerous handlers are needed to keep parade attendants safe and the balloons secure and on track. That is me, that is my life…when things are going great, I do not feel the need to have help staying attached or on course. It is only when those life storms kick up that I begin to concern myself with to Whom or how I am anchored or tethered.
Who holds my lines? Where do I turn when anxious? When I feel I am losing myself, who do I trust to reel me back in…I will tell you that on my fourth night of restless sleep, when thoughts of parade balloons loomed overhead…I mentally focused on the handlers. I found myself thanking God for the people He has placed in my life who are my line handlers. Family, friends, and loved ones, who go through life with me and remind me of His blessings. I also realized I had placed lines in hands of people or things not worthy of them…I had allowed people or things to have control of parts of my life that were not healthy; I am learning to let them go. I also realized I had (once again) allowed the Word of God to fall from my daily life…I can literally feel myself handing God my most impactful “line” each time I read His words. I feel tethered again.
It is funny, but not at all surprising, to realize that as I sit to write my first advent post this year, it is only days before Thanksgiving and the Macy’s Day Parade! Those ballons are still in my thoughts and on my heart. These last few months I have be mindful of my lines…determined to stay tethered to the God of my Hope.
This first week of advent we stop and consider the HOPE we have in Jesus Christ. Though we may not deserve it, while we all are still sinners, He sent His son, Jesus Christ, who overcome death on our behalf that we may know forgiveness and grace and not eternal darkness. THIS is the lifeline God sent to us…THIS is the reason God will always be my ultimate line handler, the One who keeps me on course, safe from all manner of misguiding currents or storms. I am looking forward to the Macy’s parade this year, but now I will see it differently…those silly, floppy, wayward, comical balloons will forever be a reminder to check my lines and trust the God Who holds them.
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” Romans 15:13
Tuesday With Teri 