Monday, April 19, 2010

Motivational Monday - "The Kite"


The Kite
Author Unknown
How can we be free with so many rules and commandments to obey? A simple story will illustrate the value of such guidelines.
A little boy and his dad purchased a beautiful kite. Never having flown a kite before, the little boy was excited. The day was perfect. They found and open field. They wound the ball of twine around a stick so the boy could hold on to it, and then they ran, pulling the kite behind them. Finally the wind caught the kite, and it started to fly.

Then they stood still, holding the kite against the wind, and letting out more string. The kite responded by ascending higher and higher. It was exciting, and the little boy was delighted.
After a long while they came to the end of the string, and as they watched the kite, now only a tiny speck in the sky, the little boy suddenly said, "Let's let it go. I want it to be free. I want it to go higher and higher, clear up to Heavenly Father." The dad replied, "It doesn't work that way, son. If we let it go, it won't go higher. It will fall instead." The little boy didn't believe him because the tension on the string made it seem like the string was holding the kite down.
To demonstrate what would happen, the dad opened his pocket knife and handed it to his son. The little boy cut the string. In moments, just moments, the kite lost control. It darted here and there, down and down, and soon they had to walk a long way even to find it, a broken heap on the ground. The little boy couldn't understand. The string had seemed to be holding the kite down. But it wasn't. The string provided an anchor for the kite, without which it lost its ability to fly.

Like the little boy, some of us mistakenly assume that commandments, rules, and values restrict us -- that if we were only free of them, we would be liberated. The truth is, the guidelines provide the discipline that will ultimately lift and guide us to our Heavenly Father. Without the commandments, we would be left to drift aimlessly and eventually crash in a broken heap. As we develop personal, private, religious behavior in the form of prayer, scripture study, service, church attendance, and obedience, we strengthen ourselves against sin and accumulate the power we need to be victorious in our war against Satan.

"Therefore, cheer up your hearts, and remember that ye are free to act for yourselves--to choose the way of everlasting death or the way of eternal life." (2 Nephi 10:23)

3 comments:

Scrappy Girl said...

What a great way to illustrate that point.

Welcome to the Garden of Egan said...

Beautiful thoughts.
Love ya!

Valerie said...

I've always thought that was a great way to explain how the commandments help us. Looks great with the photos.

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