In 1986, a crowd of over 100,000 people gathered in downtown Cleveland, Ohio for an event called Balloonfest ‘86. Organizers hoped to raise money for charity and to set a new world record by releasing 1.5 million balloons simultaneously.
But things went terribly wrong.
Balloon releases are typically harmless. Helium-filled balloons stay airborne until they fully deflate. Even in large numbers, they scatter to the wind and fall harmlessly back to Earth over a wide area. But on this day, 1.5 million balloons collided with a thunderstorm that immediately forced them back to earth. The fully inflated balloons blanketed the region, caused traffic problems, and interrupted flight schedules at the airport. They even interfered with the Coast Guard’s search for two lost boaters. The balloons caused so much trouble that the city was sued for millions of dollars in damages, and the event organizers lost money instead of raising it.
A lot of ideas in our culture are just like that. They seem fun and colorful … until adversity comes. Then, instead of encouraging us upward, they fall uselessly to our feet, leaving us overwhelmed and disoriented.
When the storms of life come, we need more than pretty colors. We need beliefs that anchor us in truth while lifting us beyond our troubles to a place of faith, peace, and hope.
