Fridays are usually very light so that I can go golfing with my buddies, or do Honey Do’s, or just do nothing.  I said usually, because there are times when Fridays are full of activities and commitments.  This last Friday was of the usual kind when I got a call from my son who was taking care of his nephews, my grandsons, and asked me if I wanted to go to Brayden’s school and fly a kite with the rest of the children who were going to be doing the same thing.  I didn’t have anything planned in the afternoon so I was down for the experience.  Mind you, I haven’t flown any kites for years, and probably decades.  A short side note.  As I have gotten into the 60’s, I have begun to talk in the decades when it comes to things I haven’t done for years, a little strange.

Carter came over and we headed over to the school around 2 pm and the kids were just coming out of their classes with their kites.  It was only the kindergarten class children that were participating in the kite flying experience.  There was a soft breeze and Brayden, Carter and I got the kite up rather easily, although we had to cut some of the tail so that it would soar.

It was an awesome experience to have some time with my oldest grandson.  I also observed a few children who didn’t have any parents attending and were having trouble getting their kite off the ground.  One child had his kite configured the wrong way with the  string attached to the post and not the piece where it was supposed to be attached.  I asked him if I could fix it for him and he said yes so it took a few minutes to fix it and off he went, running as the kite took to the air.

Another mother was there trying to help her son get the kite off the ground, but the kite was not obliging.  As we began to talk, her husband who wasn’t there said she would never get the kite in the air, so I began to help her.  We cut off a bit of tail and within a matter of minutes her son’s kite was going up, up, in the air.

I came away with two different emotions.  The first emotion was being in the moment with Brayden.  As a 5 year old will do, once the kite is in the air for a few minutes, his mind switched to chasing his best friend Brooklyn.  But the moment of connecting with my grandson was priceless and I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the air.

The second emotion surfaced with those kids who were trying to fly their kites with no help from someone who had experienced flying kites before.  It was a sad emotion and reminded me of people who are trying to do life on their own without any help.  God created life and has a book, the Bible, that is full of practical principles on doing relationships.  We only have to ask for help and He is more than willing to reach down and bring insight to the struggles that we face.  Our only responsibility is to see that we need help and ask for it.  The little boy asked for help and got it.

On this journey, asking for help can change our circumstances in the relational encounters that we get involved in.  It involves realizing that we haven’t been able to and asking for His guidance.  So ask.