Once a father and son went to a Kite-flying Festival. The young son was thrilled to see the sky filled with many colourful kites. He asked his father if he could get a kite and thread with a reel so that he could fly a kite as well. The father agreed and went to a shop at the park where the festival was being held. He purchased a kite and a reel of kite-string for his son. The excited boy soon had his kite in the air. It reached high up in the sky. After a while, the son said, “Father, it seems to me that the thread is preventing the kite from flying higher. If we break the thread, the kite will be free and will go flying even higher. Can we break it?” So, the father cut the string from the reel. The kite started to go a little higher, which made the son very happy! Then, slowly, the kite started to lose height. Soon it fell down on the terrace of a nearby building. The young son was surprised and disappointed to see this. He had cut the kite loose of its thread so it could fly higher; but instead, it fell from the sky. He asked his father, “Father, I thought that after cutting the thread, the kite would be free and would fly higher. Why did it fall down?” The Father explained, “The thread was not holding the kite from going higher, but it was helping it stay higher when the wind slowed down. When the wind picked up, you were then able to help the kite go higher in a proper direction through the thread. When we cut it, the kite fell down without the help you were providing to the kite through the string.” The son realized his mistake. Moral: Sometimes we feel that we could progress more quickly and reach goals in life and career and rise to newer heights of achievement if we were not tied up with what we consider mundane and interrupting daily responsibilities…like quality time with our family and children, worship time at church and in prayer, neighbourliness, friendships, etc. Yet, we often fail to realize that God has given us our family, loved ones and friends to help us survive the tough times in our lives with their care and support they are encouraging us to reach greater heights in our life. They are not holding us back or causing us to fail…they are supporting us. NEVER LET GO OF THEM! Anonymous