Today is National Kite Flying Day. Why would anyone choose this day to fly a kite unless you live in a southern state or a warmer country? Most of the United States is a frigid mess this time of year. But one of the most important kite flying contests was held just a couple of weeks prior to this day in 1848.
During the mid-1800s, tourism was growing on both the Canadian and American sides of Niagara Falls. Crossing the Niagara Gorge with a bridge seemed the most sensible way to connect the sides, expanding the tourism opportunities. However, engineers from Europe and America said that this couldn’t be done. Only four men thought that it was possible. Charles Ellet, Jr. won a competition waged between those four men and was elected to build the bridge.
“The location of the chosen site was at the narrowest point of the gorge, immediately above the Whirlpool Rapids. The bridge was to connect the site of what was to become the Canadian village of Elgin (later Clifton, and then Niagara Falls, Ontario), with the American Village of Bellvue (now Niagara Falls, NY).”1
Designing the bridge to cover the expanse was the easy part. Stringing the first wire from one side of the 800-foot-wide gorge to the other was the problem. The cliffs on both sides and the raging waters in between made crossing in a ship impossible.
At a dinner meeting with colleagues, a unique idea was proposed by Theodore Hullet. Host a contest, awarding a prize to the first person who can fly a kite across the divide. Once the kite has been collected on the other side, heavier string, rope, then cable could be strung along the original kite string. Would such a bizarre concept work?
On January 30, 1848, 15-year-old American Homan Walsh won the contest. You would think flying a kite across that distance wouldn’t be very difficult. It’s only .15 mile. However, it’s winter. The winds are brutal. There is the updraft created by the falls. You have to land the kite on the other side which means you are playing the wind-game for quite a while. It’s not as easy as it seems. It took Walsh a couple of weeks to get the job done.
To make use of the winds, he went to the Canadian side to fly his kite. He had to wait a day for the winds to be just right. Then, after flying all day and into the evening, the winds died, and the kite came down. Tugging on the string, it went limp after being cut by rocks and ice. Walsh was stranded for eight days waiting for the ferry to run again. Once it did, he returned to the American side, retrieved the kite, made repairs, and started all over again. Finally, he had success and won the coveted prize.
Think about it. An expansion bridge began with a boy and a kite. Something big began with something so small that caused many to scoff.
A Bible character named Zerubbabel was tasked with rebuilding the temple. Solomon’s exquisite temple had been destroyed and all that’s left is rubble. Nobody is going to have the resources to build what Solomon had built. It would be easy to say, “Why bother? What’s the point?”
Evidently, some of this negativity must have been voiced because the Lord gives this encouragement in Zechariah 4:8-10. “Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, (9) The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also finish it; and thou shalt know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me unto you. (10) For who hath despised the day of small things? for they shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel with those seven; they are the eyes of the LORD, which run to and fro through the whole earth.”
In the Enduring Word Commentary, David Guzik gives some great insights. “Zechariah’s question rings true to us today. Almost every one of us could answer, “I have despised the day of small things.” The question provides its own answer: none of us should despise the day of small things, because God has a wonderful – though perhaps difficult – purpose for those days… In many of God’s choice workers He uses a powerful season of small things. Those days are not a mistake nor are they punishment; they are days of priceless shaping and preparation. They are not days to despise.
“When Satan tempts us to despise the day of small things, he shines as an outstanding liar because Satan does not despise the day of small things. Satan fears the day of small things in our life because he sees what great things God does in them and brings out of them.
“Spurgeon spoke to the need for courage in the day of small things in our churches… “God accepts your little works if they are done in faith in his dear Son. God will give success to your little works: God will educate you by your little works to do greater works; and your little works may call out others who shall do greater works by far than ever you shall be able to accomplish.””
Go fly your kite today.
1http://kitehistory.com/Miscellaneous/Homan_Walsh.htm
