Am I the only person who needs a vacation to recover from a vacation? Aw, we had fun, but I'm exhausted! My parents generously took us to Dollywood this week located in the Smokey Mountains of Tennessee. Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg. Absolutely beautiful this time of year.
So, we braved the weather (which was nice for the most part if you discounted the frost bite after the sun went down) and did the amusement park deal. Which is the perfect time for homeschoolers to go because we basically had the park to ourselves. No lines, no crowds, no blazing hot heat stroke weather.
My kids (and 60+ year old mother) LOVE the roller coaster rides. Their favorite was Thunderhead, a totally wooden roller coaster. There are only two like it in the world, one in Dollywood and one in Germany.
As I was watching my daughter’s sheer enjoyment of the ride, I thought to myself, “I want her to grow up enjoying life as much as she’s enjoying that ride. I want her to treat life like that roller coaster.”
You see, they sit you in the seat then pull a safety bar down around you. As you go around the track, swerving up, down and all around, you hang on for dear life on some parts, on others, you throw your hands up to the mercy of the ride, screaming with laughter, sometimes a little fear, but with the assurance you’ll arrive at the finish line in one piece. I thought that was awesome.
What if we treated life like a roller coaster ride?
What if we got in the seat (ready for what life throws at us), pulled our safety bar down around us (God), and as we race around the track (life) knowing we’ll have ups and downs, bumps and swerves, sometimes winding upside down and desperate to find ourselves right side up, what if we grab tight to that safety bar (God), the one thing that can keep us safe and right where we need to be when troubles come our way, then when those pass, throw our hands up high and say, “I’m at your mercy, God, do what you will with me.” Then scream with joy and laughter as God takes us on the ride of our lives. And throughout the ride, all the ups and downs, twists and swerves, know with peaceful assurance, we’re going to land at the finish line (heaven) in one piece.
How awesome would that be?
Just my thought for the day…
No comments:
Post a Comment