Sunday Reflections - Balloons

"...those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.  They will soar on wings like eagles..."  (Isaiah 40:31)

Yesterday was one of those beautiful Saturday mornings we have in the fall.  The skies were a deep blue with wispy clouds all over the place.

I went out to let Gletta out after feeding both horses in their stalls.  We have to shut Gletta's run out gate because she eats so much slower than Morgunn.  If we don't, he would finish his hay and then go to her stall and eat the rest of hers.

As I walked out to her stall I heard a familiar whooshing sound.  It was the sound of burning propane which is a very familiar sound in this area.  I looked up and there were about 6 or 7 balloons all across the sky and a couple were coming over close to our house.

I love this time of year.  The Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta starts next Friday with the Albuquerque Fly In.  A lot of the balloons go to all the elementary, middle and high schools around the area and take off from the schools so the kids can watch them take off.  That means they come up all around us and it's a neat sight.

As I watched the balloons float across the sky it brought back memories from several years ago.  On Betty's birthday in May we were going to be out in Colorado visiting our son, Wade Daniel, and his new wife, Marie.  Betty and I had always wanted to take a balloon ride so our son arranged one.  It turned out we took our ride in South Park, Colorado (yes, that's where the creator of South Park got the name for their show).  We had a grand time.  We did a splash and dash where the pilot dropped the balloon down almost to a small river and then took off again.  We watched horses run beneath us as they seemed to want to play with us.

We had such a good time that we decided to do it again later that summer in August with our other son, Chris, and his wife, Tracy.  We took a wonderful balloon ride over the rolling green hills and corn fields of central Ohio.  We would fly low over a stand of trees and swoop across a highway and it was fun to watch the drivers as we surprised them by going over so low.  The pilot even lowered the balloon so we clipped the tops of corn stalks in a field and even flew through the tops of trees.

On both flights it was fun to watch people come out to see us and several times we could even talk with them because we were low enough.

Flying in a balloon is probably the closest I'll ever come to physically 'soaring on wings like eagles.'  However, it's a blessing to know that the God of the universe lives within me so that my spirit can 'soar on wings like eagles,' even in those times when I feel like I've had my wings clipped and been grounded by life.

Today is September 28 and if today is your Birthday then you share your day with:  Hillary Duff, Naomi Watts, Moon Unit Zappa (now that's a name), Brigitte Bardot, Al Capp, and Ed Sullivan.

On this day in 1066, William the Conqueror, the Duke of Normandy, invaded England (and the legend of Robin Hood was born).  In 1850 flogging was abolished as a form of punishment in the US Navy (I'm glad, being a Navy veteran).  In 1924 two US Army planes landed in Seattle completing the first around-the-world flight in 175 days).  And, in 2005 the US Treasury introduced the new, colorful $10 bill.