Dustin thought making and releasing our own paper lanterns into the atmosphere would be a good family night activity. Upon investigation, we learned that paper lantern making is nearly as complicated as building a nuclear reactor. If I recall, I think part of the instructions required one to obtain a rare glue that is only found deep within the rain forests of South America. OK, maybe it wasn't that dramatic. But it still required materials we either #1 didn't already have #2 didn't know where to obtain or #3 didn't know what they were. So when Caleb came home with a paper lantern from the fireworks store, we were pretty relieved because #1 we didn't have to comb the earth for rare precious materials to make a paper lantern that was destined to end up as ashes and #2 we realized that Caleb does pay attention to what we talk about sometimes.
Since the allure of actually making paper lanterns went up in flames (pun TOTALLY intended), Dustin thought it would be interesting for everyone to write either a prayer or praise on the store-bought lantern. We would then send it up to heaven. Kids prayers are the best. They can be hilarious. Like when Will prays that he will one day have The Force. (You know, the Star Wars "force".) And they can be also be so very sweet and sincere. Like when Will prays for those who don't have Jesus in their hearts. On the night of the paper lantern, the kids took the sincere route. Since I can't seem to put the camera down, Dustin wrote on the lantern whatever Will and Lily dictated to him.
I was pleased with Caleb because he actually took this activity seriously. He sometimes isn't too thrilled with family night activities. (I mean what 13 year old wouldn't LOVE to spend a night playing Candy Land with the family?!?)
Once we finished the writing part, we headed outside to release our prayers to God.
(Sidenote: My camera doesn't do well in low light situations. So I had many issues taking all of these photos. I had to manipulate this next picture in order to make it more visable. I kinda like the funkiness (I probably made that word up) of it. Guess I need to upgrade if I really want to capture these family memories from now on...hint hint Dustin)
I think Will was awestruck.
Once Dustin and Caleb were able to get the lantern lit, they released it into the night sky. It peacefully floated upward while we watched it in silence. I thought it looked so graceful. As it drifted higher and higher, I thought about how small we are really are in this world. And despite that, each of our prayers would still be heard. That thought gave me goosebumps!
We watched the lantern until we could no longer see it. The night was so tranquil that it was hard to go back inside. The kids had all sorts of questions about their prayers and that lantern. Lily kept asking if it made it up to heaven yet. I tried to explain that even before we wrote down our prayers that Jesus already knew them. She really didn't understand. I hope we didn't confuse her too much by literally sending prayers to heaven. I suppose I may have to explain it better in the weeks, months, maybe even years to come. But for now, I think we made an impression on them. Weeks after this event, Lily asked me if Jesus got our lantern. She is still thinking about it.
It is so amazing to see the wheels turning in their heads when we do things like this. Now as I look back at this night, I thank God for entrusting Dustin and I with these three souls. This is an amazing journey. It turned out to be a memorable family night on so many levels.
Awesomeness. Totally.
ReplyDelete