Kites and Easter

Our family only has a few traditions.

• A fondue supper on Christmas Eve. 
• On April 1st, calling Grandpa Klassen he has a pink elephant on his roof. 
• Flying kites on Easter weekend.

Yesterday was a  beautiful day for flying kites in our neighbourhood. So two of my grandchildren and I spent a few hours Saturday afternoon flying our kites on this wonderful Easter weekend. Enjoying watching the wind pick up the kites and soar them to the end of the string and just hanging there in the air, dancing about for hours.

Watching the kites rise from the earth - I find it somewhat a spiritual experience. Especially at Easter. A time when we remember death being conquered and life rising once again from the grave - kind of like a kite rises from the still-brown grass of the winter into the incredible beauty of the blue skies.

This tradition has been important in helping us as parents, and now as grandparents, give a physical symbol of the resurrection.

Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!

It's the phrase we repeat on each Easter Sunday morning. But to attach it to the symbol of the kite rising from the earth to the sky helps open up conversation with our children and grandchildren. What does Jesus' rising from the dead mean for us? How does it compare with the rising of the kite? How does it differ? What makes flying a kite the most special? What makes celebrating Jesus' resurrected life special for me?

Let me share some of the interesting comments that have been made over the years:

• Although we control the flight of the kite with the string, we don't control Jesus - yet he still maintains direct connection with us
• You want to fly the kite as high (and by definition, as far away) as possible, yet Jesus wants to remain up close and personal
• When the wind stops blowing the kite falls - just like when we don't maintain an openness to the Holy Spirit it is hard to have Jesus rise up in importance in our lives
• It's always sad to pull the kite back down to earth and put it away - but Jesus never has to be "put away". He can always remain with us.

Happy Easter! Christ is Risen! He is Risen Indeed!