Why Stars and Kites?
My Life On Hold
It was another freezing north eastern winter. What was I, a southern girl, doing in Milford, Delaware anyway? These questions flooded my mind as I desperately tried to find my way. I heard the door close as my husband went to church and left me behind. But, at the moment, everything was put on hold. I was suffering from rheumatoid arthritis. I could not move even one muscle in my fingers without torturous pain. In my despair, I began to think life was over for me, and I was only twenty-eight years old. My mind raced back to my childhood when I faced severe, complex curvature of the spine. How thankful I am to God for His guidance, insightful parents, and a world renown physician, Dr. Paul R. Herrington from Houston, Tex., who performed a miracle surgery, one of the first of its kind using rod infusions for scoliosis patients.
Time moved swiftly and too soon it seemed, college and courtship days were behind, and the challenges of getting on with “real life” was before my husband, Royce and me. This involved a move from our rich Southern heritage to a lovely North Eastern community. It was exciting days and I could hardly wait to begin my teaching career, and blending my life with my husband’s calling. However, little did I know I was soon to face a new curve in life where the pause button would bring everything to a screeching halt. An arthritic condition attacked every muscle in my body, causing agonizing pain and making mobility impossible. I began to think God did not even care or know that I existed.
The Miracle Moment
But the Miracle moment did come to me and I can remember it like yesterday. It was on a Sunday morning as my husband was leaving for church and I could not move off of the bed where I was lying. I was so empty and hopeless inside. But like a movie on slow motion I recall…my husband, Royce kiss me goodbye, on that freezing cold day and I then heard the door close behind him; it jarred my entire being. “What a deficit I was,” my mind told me. Being alone, I reached for a book near my bed that our hero and college principal, Pastor Fred Foster, had left us. Struggling with my physical pain and emotions, I finished reading the book entitled, The Gift of Agabar, by Og Mandino. It was an allegory of a little boy who brought down stars with his kite to keep himself and his sister alive. The book was filled with great philosophies, such as ‘live everyday as if it is Christmas’, and ‘hate is one luxury you cannot afford.’ This book was fantastic, for the boy did catch a beautiful star which kept his sister and himself alive, plus it’s warmth kept the whole lapp-land from freezing, but I was still left struggling. Exasperated, I prayed and asked God, “Is your book like that too? Even though it is filled with promises, does it just sound good?” For instance, words which promise, you can have your healing, as the lame man did, and other examples where He actually healed the blind, were these just empty promises? Was it just a good book too, that was full of goodness and good promises, but in reality… was it like the book with the kite which the little boy hooked to stars to bring down to warm a city. We know that is impossible, but it made a good book. I began to plead with God, if His book was real to please speak to me through someone; just to let me know He knew I existed and that He cared.
The phone rang. My heart is pounding now as I recall this very life-changing moment. The miracle moment occurred through a dream that changed the rest of my life, where I knew God heard and was sending the answer to my prayer. Suddenly, my phone rang. It was my sister, Ann. She said, “Glenda, I had a dream! My son Darlwyn said, ‘Mother, teach me how to fly a kite.’ ” I said, “Darlwyn, you have the kite. What you need is the string.” God gave Ann this dream the night before I had read that book about the boy and the kite. The night before I had asked Him to let me know He knew where I was. His word declares, I know your needs before you ask for them. God was speaking loudly and I was listening. I felt God was saying, “Glenda, you have the gift of my spirit which is the kite, the vehicle into the heavenly’s, but what you need is the string of faith.”
I was shaking. To think this God I prayed to, had heard my prayer. I who felt so insignificant moments before was suddenly being transformed. To think the God of this great universe, was speaking to me. It was more than I could fathom!
God let me know it was not just a coincidence – a dream, a boy, and a kite! My life was transformed! To think, God had my address and phone number. Shortly, after this incident, I received my healing from the painful rheumatoid arthritis condition. I will tell all about this most significant healing in my life in another writing. But since then, stars, kites, and strings have been my inspiration. God let me know that I had the kite, the vehicle into the heavens, but what I needed was the string of faith. Heavenly promises are His stars that we can catch with our kite and string of faith; they are the only way we can reach into the heavens. Yet, so many times we try on our own to reach the things of God. We can all reach into the sky with faith for things money will never purchase. God’s treasure chest is as vast as the horizon.
To you, my dear friends, may you never give up or loose hope in life. No matter how bleak the situation might look; infact, just for a moment, look up into the heavenly’s. The horizons are wrapped with glistening stars of God’s love, healings, and gifts. Release your string of faith and send your kite of prayer soaring into the Heavenly’s. By doing this you unlock the promises of God’s word to your life and you are asking God for your Miracle Moment. It will happen for you my friend just as it happened for me. May God’s stars of love, joy, and peace, fill your life as you continually release your string of faith and kite of prayer.
Glenda Andrus
Stars, Kites, & Strings
