balloons

balloons have been following me around for awhile.
I used to have custom-made balloons with the wxw star on them-
and every sunday morning, I’d fill them up before church.
this led me to learn more about balloons,
and to learn from people that are experts at filling them just right.
it takes skills to fully inflate them, but not over-inflate them-
I’ve learned that there is a goo that balloon places squirt into balloons
that can make them last up to a whole day longer.
but the goo is smelly and sticky-
and if the balloon pops while you’re filling it,
then the smelly sticky goo can turn you into a smelly, sticky person.

but that’s not my only experience with balloons-
jane went through a serious pooh bear phase-
and pooh and his friends
in the hundred acre wood have a thing for balloons.
probably the most famous pooh-bear story
is the one where he uses a balloon
to try to steal honey from some bees.



and then there is the story
of how piglet wanted to re-gift his balloon to eeyore,
but it popped on the way to his gloomy spot.


not only that, my little girl is very into balloons right now.
one time I called the house, and I was chatting with Deanna,
and I heard my normally quiet,
whiper-ey little girl shouting at the top of her lungs
“HOW WE GONNA REACH IT?! HOW WE GONNA REACH IT?!”
“I CAN REACH IT! I CAN REACH IT!”
I asked, “what is she doing?”
Deanna sounded exhausted,
“she got a balloon and she’s chasing it around the house.”
“she’s been at it for an hour!” she replied.

balloons can bring joy to a little girl,
but also sadness.
we have those old-school popcorn ceilings- balloon-killers.
when those beautiful bouncy balloons pop on them,
the sound is scary, and the sight of the shredded balloon is heartbreaking.
sometimes jane goes to bed after playing with a full balloon-
when she wakes up, it’s the first thing on her mind-
but sadly, by the time its morning, the balloon has lost its float-ey-ness.
balloons just don’t last very long.
just one day- maybe two- so you have to enjoy them while you can.

people are like balloons-
they come in all shapes, colors and sizes-
some are shiny, some are plain-
some go out in a blaze of glory, some just run out of gas slowly;
some last longer, some don’t last very long at all,
but they all have a very short life.

the writers of the bible didn’t have balloons-
if they did, they might have talked about them-
instead, they talked about the brevity of life in other terms.
james says that people are like a mist.
peter says that we are like grass.
we just don’t last long.

so if I may borrow a phrase from one of my heroes, bill hybels,
“in what other life are you going to go all out?”
we only get one life; and its really short
what are you putting off?
we only get one shot-
go for it now. live your life now-
tomorrow isn’t guaranteed.
finish life with no regrets.