Today I got to do something really fun and different. My wife had gotten me a certificate for a hot air balloon ride some time ago, we scheduled it for today. We had to be there really early in the morning, because the balloon launch is at sunrise, when they predict the wind will be minimal.
We were in a large wicker basket with 6 other passengers and our pilot, who had 42 years of ballooning experience. Watching them fill the balloon with big fans, then shoot 12ft. long flames into the opening, in order to heat up the air, was very exciting! As we climbed in and got settled, I asked the pilot, how much steering you have with all these cables? He looked at me with a smile and said, “Absolutely none! We go where the wind goes.” In truth, the pilot did have a tiny amount of control, because the wind vectors were different at different elevations, but other than that…
Life is like a hot air balloon ride. We have ups, we have downs, and we really have very little control with the overall direction of things. Oh sure, we control how hard we work, we make career and family decisions, and, hopefully, we try to follow what scripture teaches us on how to live. But in truth, we have only a tiny amount of real “control.” All the big stuff, where we are born, who our parents are, the experiences we don’t see coming, whether our kids will know God, whether we or a loved one will experience significant illness…all of those things are really beyond our control. Lean in to God. He’s got this. He loves us more that we will ever understand…more than we love our spouse or our children. And HE will guide your balloon! (Prov. 16:9, Prov. 19:21, Prov. 20:24)