In 1986, a crowd of over 100,000 individuals gathered in downtown Cleveland, Ohio for an occasion known as Balloonfest ‘86. Organizers hoped to boost cash for charity and to set a brand new world document by releasing 1.5 million balloons concurrently.
But issues went terribly flawed.
Balloon releases are sometimes innocent. Helium-filled balloons keep airborne till they totally deflate. Even in massive numbers, they scatter to the wind and fall harmlessly again to Earth over a large space. But on this day, 1.5 million balloons collided with a thunderstorm that instantly pressured them again to earth. The totally inflated balloons blanketed the area, prompted visitors issues, and interrupted flight schedules on the airport. They even interfered with the Coast Guard’s seek for two misplaced boaters. The balloons prompted a lot hassle that town was sued for thousands and thousands of {dollars} in damages, and the occasion organizers misplaced cash as a substitute of elevating it.
Lots of concepts in our tradition are identical to that. They appear enjoyable and colourful … till adversity comes. Then, as a substitute of encouraging us upward, they fall uselessly to our ft, leaving us overwhelmed and disoriented.
When the storms of life come, we’d like greater than fairly colours. We want beliefs that anchor us in fact whereas lifting us past our troubles to a spot of religion, peace, and hope.
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