Being Led by the Red Balloon

The wind began to swirl stronger as we loaded up the pearl white mini-van.  My husband eyed his phone for the forecast.  The kids were filled with excitement as they tried to maintain composure waiting for us to leave.  Today was the pool party my daughter had been anticipating all week. At this party, she would receive ribbons for swim team plus have cake, pizza and a great time swimming!  Sounds great, doesn't it?  Bags were packed, family was in the van, husband phone in hand.

Before backing up the van, he says, "There is a tornado watch.  Let me call the pool and see if they are still having the party."  We wait.  He calls.  The person on the other end says they are still having the party and people are down by the pool.  Then there was a pause.  She clarifies that everyone is out of the pool due to the pool being closed down temporarily.  She wasn't sure why or when they would be getting back in the water.

My husband conveys the news to me and we reluctantly decide to continue with our plan to go to the pool party.

We backed up out of the driveway and headed down the street.  As the wind ripped through the trees, my husband began to question our decision.

He points out:

1.  It is really windy.
2. There is a tornado watch.
3. The pool is temporarily closed.
4.  The wind is picking up and the sky is getting dark.

All note worthy reasons to not go to a pool party.

...and then there was the red balloon.

As we drove down the street, we saw a red balloon...It was a random red balloon stuck in a neighbor's tree!  It caught both of our attention.

He then says, "And there is a red balloon in that tree!"  Laughing, he decides, "I think the Lord is trying to tell us we shouldn't go!"

Please don't misunderstand.  We are not signs kind of people.  However, sometimes if there are many obvious events or circumstances pointing to going one direction or another, we do need to learn to discern that the Lord may be trying to give us a message!  We shouldn't just ignore if there are many obstacles in our way.  The Lord may be trying to protect us and we need to listen.

After seeing the red balloon and laughing, we happily turned around.  The wind continued to pick up.

That  night, there ended up being a tornado warning and tornadoes touching down in the area.  If we hadn't listened to the Lord's direction, we could have ended up stuck in the YMCA basement all night or worse.

Sometimes those "red balloons" are the red flags the Lord will use to get our attention.  The next time you are uncertain about a decision, look for those "red balloons".  They might be just the thing the Lord is using to guide you into His blessings and away from the winds of harm.