Life’s like a…

It’s that time of year again when the weather warms up, the trees turn green, the sun is shining more, and tee shirts and shorts replace pants and heavy coats. Adding to the excitement of this new season, a couple weeks ago we crossed the state line and drove a few hours away to a place where screaming and wide-eyed faces were mostly a good thing.

I woke up that morning, renewed our season passes, and surprised the kids with their first trip of the year to Kings Island. On the drive there, I thought about last year when it was my youngest son’s first time riding roller coasters and new rides. He became afraid after we got on a “new to him” roller coaster. He wasn’t sure what the ride was going to do, how it would make him feel, or if he would survive it at all. I remember holding his arm and reassuring him, telling him what was happening and what was coming next. And then in the middle of the ride he told me I could let go. He went from being afraid of the ride to trusting that whatever happened next he was going to be okay.

It was on that trip, in the middle of the ride, with my hair being blown in every direction and my stomach flip-flopping while I was trying to help my son that God immediately showed me how this ride was symbolic of real life. Sometimes He gives us a glimpse of what’s to come; what He’s doing or what we need to do, and that revelation is to reassure us and keep us moving in the right direction. And sometimes we find ourselves on a ride we would rather not be on. What God shows us or calls us to do can be scary, and just like my son, we have a tendency to close our eyes and let fear paralyze us. But as I was holding Ben’s arm a year ago on that roller coaster, I realized God is always with us doing the same thing. Even in the moments when life doesn’t feel so great if we continue trusting God, we can have the courage to continue in our faith, the boldness to keep moving forward, and His joy to sustain us. If God leads us somewhere or allows things in our lives to be a certain way, if we feel like everything is out of our control we can be confident because He has everything under control. And even though at times there are twists and turns, hills and dark tunnels where we can barely see what’s in front of us; God sees and He is beside us the whole way.

I know the whole “life is like a roller coaster” is cliche but I was thankful for the reminder that God sees what we don’t, and because of that he sometimes tells us what’s ahead to remove any doubt or fear. I’m so thankful that even though life can be like a roller coaster, I’m riding it with Jesus.