Here's Pastor Dave McDowell's
weekly devotional that he sends out to members of his church. Dave is my brother
and serves as the Music Minister at Stewartstown UMC in PA.
Life is a party,
and sometimes that party can show up in the strangest of places.
Each spring our church sponsors a graduation banquet
for the graduating high school seniors.
One of my duties annually,
is to deliver the balloons from a local store
to the church.
Yesterday,
I drove my capped pickup truck
to pick up the nine balloon trees needed for the banquet.
Now each balloon tree had five balloons,
so I needed to cram 45 large helium balloons into the back of my truck.
It wasn't until I arrived at the store that I realized I had a problem,
a BIG problem.
During the last year,
one of the plastic windows in the truck cap
had popped out while I was driving.
I was never able to find it and have been
unable to locate a replacement window.
It didn't dawn on me until
the balloons were being brought to the truck,
that I was about to insert 45 balloons
into a not-so-enclosed space.
The missing window measured 1 foot by two feet,
large enough for helium balloons to find their escape,
especially once I began to drive.
The only thing I had in the truck in which to block the window was duct tape,
so I taped over the window opening.
Duct tape has been my salvation in many a tight spot in my life,
but salvation was not to be found in the back of my truck this day..
If I had paid attention in high school physics class,
I would have learned that the flow of air over a vehicle
once it reaches 35 miles per hour,
is enough to create an air foil
strong enough to suction small children,
let alone, helium balloons, out of a duct taped portal.
I was only two blocks from the store
when the first blue & gold balloon tree
decided to makes its break for freedom.
Fortunately,
the balloon treeshad an anchor,
so once it escaped from the truck,
it found a resting place on the double line
in the center of the road.
I know that cats have nine lives,
but evidently balloon trees have at least ten....
that would be the ten vehicles (including one 16 wheeler)
that came within inches of deflating its joy.
After the balloon tree had met Jesus for the 10th time in the middle of the road,
I was finally able to capture it.
But I was two miles from my destination,
with no more duct tape, and little hope.
A resident from a nearby home, who had been observing my dilemma,
(with some amusement)
offered a broken plastic lawn chair from her trash
to help block the window.
I thanked her profusely,
as if she had given me a priceless diamond.
For 1.5 miles, the broken plastic lawn chair
seemed to be doing a great job of being a prison guard,
that is until I reached a road construction crew.
This did not seem to be a threat to the safe transfer of 9 balloon trees
as I needed to slow down even more.
What I did not account for, were the bumps in the road
created by the road construction site,
which were severe enough to dislodge the broken plastic lawn chair
from its place as prison guard.
Three balloon trees decided it was time for a jailbreak.
A red and white balloon tree landed on recently poured asphalt.
A blue and gold balloon tree (different than the first escapee)
landed in front of a truck.
The third, a green and yellow balloon tree, tried the most daring escape,
but the anchor brought it into the welcome arms of the crew flagman.
I can't be sure,
but I can be fairly that never before in the history of Department of Transportation roadcrews,
that any roadcrew has ever been greeted onsite with balloon trees.
Oddly enough, most of them thought it was funny.
And even more oddly, not one of the balloons lost their lives
even though within inches of hot asphalt and major construction equipment.
Not so oddly enough,
none of the eight vehicles waiting to get through the worksite were so amused.
Celebrations can pop up anywhere,
sometimes in the strangest of places
My local DOT crew was greeted with a spontaneous party.
The balloons brought laughter to a normally mundane workday.
Tony Campola, a well known sociologist and Christian speaker,
once told of a time when he was in Hawaii,
and because of jet lag,
he found himself at 2pm in a 24 hour diner.
It was there,
he crossed paths was a local prostitute
who let it be known, that the next day was her birthday.
Tony seized the unexpected opportunity
and planned a surprise birthday party the next evening for the prostitute,
complete with balloons, cake & gifts.
The owner of the diner asked Tony
what type of church he went to.
Tony said,
"I attend a church that would throw birthday parties
for prostitutes at 2pm in the morning"
The owner of the diner said,
"There's no church like that. If there was, I'd join it.
I'd join a church like that!" *
The DOT roadcrew was impressed that our church
would go to extravagant means to honor our high school graduates.
Those who serve the King,
know that serving Him can place one in the strangest of situations.
It is in those situations where we can choose to wonder why we are there,
or be in wonder at the importance of the opportunity.
How many Kingdom parties do we miss
because we are too busy, too distracted, or too disinterested?
The next time you find yourself in an unexpected Kingdom party,
seize the moment to celebrate what the Lord of the party is doing.
And don't be afraid if it seems a little crazy.
After all, the host of the party knows all about doing crazy and
extraordinary things for those whom He loves.
And He asks the same of those who serve Him.
Just don't make the mistake of not attending.
I'll see you there,
and I'll bring the balloons!
"And Jesus said, 'God's Kingdom is like a king who threw a wedding banquet
for His son. He sent out servants to call in all the invited guests. And they wouldn't come!' "
Matthew 22:2
