Tuesday, December 20, 2011

The Ride of a Lifetime

Life is just a roller-coaster.

Most of us have been to Six Flags or some major theme park. We have stood in those long lines to ride every ride possible, including the roller-coasters. Anyone, not just Christians, would tell you that there are times in their life when all seems fine and dandy; everything is running smoothly. Then without any warning you begin to fall. Your life is accelerating right before your very eyes and you have no way of stopping it. However, you didn't begin here at this ride. You started off with a few turns, maybe it felt a little jerky, but for the most part it was easy.

Let's take for instance the Mine Train at Six Flags. Some people might say it's a kid ride, but really the adults can ride it all they want and don't have to have any kids. To be completely honest, it's my favorite coaster. Why? As I said before, it's easy. We want our lives to go as easy as possible. There's no going upside-down. So it has a few jerks and turns in the middle, but in a nutshell that's what life is. Just as long as we get to where we are going and get there safely, we're fine.

Now let's take it to another level. Most people have to have their adrenaline ran as fast as it can go. Who knows, the ride is called the Scream Machine. Still considered basic and easy, but there's a little added to the ride. On this ride, the straight path on lasts for a few seconds. You see that the ride is about to head up-hill, but you don't really know for sure what will happen once you get to the top. The cart is climbing up the hill and maybe it feels like it's taking forever, but you know that it has to go somewhere; it can't just stay up there on top. You know that it has to come down. Without any warning, the ride begins with its nose in a downward position and accelerates to 57 mph. Your heart is pounding. Just when you think it's over, here comes another hill. There is no turning back, you must climb it. However, when all is said and done, you've made it through, but the day isn't over yet. There is still so much more to see and do.

So far, the rides of our life have been a little challenging, but basic. It was not anything we could not handle.We catch our breath. Our heart-rates come back down to normal and we move on. Husband is working full-time, coming home when he says he'll be home. Your children are listening to you, not giving you any grief. Everyone is getting involved with church and their surrounding community. Life is going great.You think to yourself that life can't get any better. You thank God for what he's already brought you through. However, you have to know that if you want to continue in God and doing it all His way, the ride is not over.

The next stage might seem to start off the the same way like in the beginning, slow, steady, comfortable, but God won't do the same thing for you as He does for someone else. You experience the light turns, the ups and downs, but now you notice something different ahead. It's something that you would have never seen coming. Life throws you upside-down. We all know that with roller-coasters, turning upside-down only last for a second then its over.

It took me a long time to get on a ride that went upside-down. Why? I had this fear that it would stop right in the middle of the turn. I was afraid of getting stuck in the upside-down position and that the safety bar would give out. Then at that point I would fall out head first and be seriously hurt or worse, it would kill me. To this day I do not ride a roller-coaster that goes upside down if it has a lap safety bar. I remember going to Six Flags and finally riding a ride that I felt secure within its safety hold. That ride was the Batman.

The Batman is an interesting ride. You are in a seated position, but this time your feet dangle. If you're like me, you would rather have your feet dangle than your head dangle. Another interesting point is it has a different turn technique. Yeah, it goes up and own a bit. It has a curve or two and it goes upside-down. So what's this different technique? Towards the middle of the ride, you feel like your life has just taken a very screwy turn. The Batman ride has a corkscrew turn in it. It's very quick, but you can't miss it.

As I said in the beginning, life is a roller-coaster. We start off basic and easy, but the more we get closer to God, the more twists, and turns, and upside-down's of life are going to come at much faster rate. Don't give up hope though because you're afraid. They only last a second or two. I know that in real life, time may be more than a second, but in God's eyes a day is like a 1000 years. So what may take a couple hours or days to solve or even get through, it's still not that long of a ride. You will get through it. "If God is for us, then who can be against us?"

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