Balloons

Have you ever seen a guy selling a cluster of balloons? There is always a guy walking around Disneyland or the fair carrying a bouquet of them with their strings tied tightly below. You may have simply taken a picture of them or maybe actually indulged in purchasing. They look beautiful, all the balloons rise high into the air above his head with the sun shining through them illuminating the vibrant rubber bubbles. You know he's not selling all of them as a package deal and certainly the sun is not included either. The fact is that if you buy a balloon, you choose one. After walking around the park for several hours the sun sets and the night cools the air but you still have that balloon tied around your wrist. Suddenly it's lost its beauty and it's just a dimly tinted balloon. When it was with all the others it appeared so lively but now simply by itself it loses all its allure. Life is like that cluster of balloons. Looking at it as a whole it's beautiful but if you begin to pick out individual experiences they may seem less charming. Of course some of life's moments are shiny mylar balloons that even when old they still shimmer but other times in life are more like a basic blue latex. At their best these aren't too attractive by themselves. It takes a greater perspective to really see the beauty. Because with the right viewpoint, even when singling out plain and disfigured moments there is something magnificent. The beauty isn't simply a life, but that which gives life its elegance and purpose. Jesus is the sun in my balloons. He shines through the cluster of experiences and makes what could be dull latex actually look radient. He's the helium inside that lifts my life up. He's the guy holding the balloons and sustaining my existence. Without him life would be a mess, floating into space never to be collected again, but Jesus gives it unity, sustenance, and beauty.