A Star Balloon

“You who fear him, trust in the Lord—he is their help and shield.”

Psalm 115:11

After lunch the other day, I decided it was time to take my seven helium star balloons down off my chair. They were starting to look droopy. I started by cutting off the ribbon attached to the chair. Next, I cut the bottom of each balloon fully expecting the balloons to drop to the ground but that was not the case. There was enough helium left in them to get to the ceiling. As I tried to catch each one and flatten it out, I missed two of them.

Balloons went up

Caleb, our 3-year-old, squealed with delight as the balloons went up. I was amazed that the balloons stayed up there since each of them had a hole at the bottom. We craned our necks while enjoying our dessert. A few minutes later, the purple one slowly came down. Caleb raced over to it and excitedly punched the balloon down. He then commented “Mom, when the teal colored one comes down, you need to cover your ears because I’m going to punch it again.’

It stayed up there much longer than the purple one and I think that is what prompted Caleb’s question.

Ask Jesus

“Mommy, can you ask Jesus?”

What would you like me to ask Him?

“Can you ask Jesus to get the balloon down?”

Sure, Buddy. I can do that.

So, I prayed out loud and asked Jesus to get that balloon down. It didn’t come down right away.  Caleb said “Didn’t you pray Mommy? I thought you asked Jesus to get it down.” I reminded Caleb that God did hear our prayer and would answer when He felt like it was best.

God will answer

About a minute later, the balloon started coming down.

Very Slowly. Slowly. Slowly.

As soon as Caleb could reach it, He announced: “Mommy, cover your ears!” Caleb flew over and punched hard. He had conquered that balloon. You would have thought our team won the Super Bowl as we both cheered loudly.

My heart just overflowed with gratefulness for many reasons. Caleb asked me to pray about a balloon. He knew that Jesus could help with this problem. I uttered a simple prayer to Jesus to bring a balloon down and He answered. Jesus’ answer didn’t come right away but it did come.

Turning to Jesus

At that moment, I felt challenged. Do I turn first to Jesus for help even when it seems so simple? Or do I turn to my friends or Facebook with my problems? God hears my prayers but do I truly believe that God will answer my prayers even when the answer doesn’t come right away? I want to be like my son Caleb. Turning to Jesus first and have no doubts that He will help me. Trusting His timing even when it doesn’t make sense.

How about you? Do you trust God with everything, even the simple things like a star balloon on the ceiling? I hope so! God is ready to hear your prayers at any time and answer at the best time.

Heavenly Father, please help me to trust You in the little things and the big things of life. You care about everything even a star balloon. My kids are watching me, Lord. Help me to model how to trust in You. Thank You for the many ways You answer my prayers. Help me to trust Your timing more. In Jesus name, Amen.