Faith the Size of a Yellow Balloon

During Katie's First Communion
Dane tied his yellow balloon onto a camera bag
Just as he turned
The balloon flew
Up and into a ceiling fan
The second ceiling fan from the front
And it held on tight
I said, "Don't worry. It won't last."
That was in April
And each Sunday
It was there
Little children would look up
"Is the yellow balloon still there?"
Around and around it would fly...
During heat, sunshine and air conditioning
During homilies and Communion
A little yellow balloon
On the second fan from the front
In the fall, we laughed,
"Who would have thought that it would still be there?"
The balloon was there during baptisms and funerals
Weddings and silence
And little children would look up

Finally...
The church prepared for Advent
Someone brought the yellow balloon down
"Where is it?" the children asked
Hanging on a bulletin board, the balloon waited
Dane took it home
He laughed when he saw it
And as we drove away
And the wheels of the car drove off the church property
The balloon, at last, shriveled.
By the time it got home
There was no reason to save it

Or was there?
One little balloon
It was always there
Made children look up.