I never really liked roller coasters, but a few years ago, while working in Texas, my colleagues and I decided to go to Six Flags over Texas. It's a huge park with many thrill rides -- providing much laugther, screams, fear and sore throats at the end of the day! Pictured here is the Texas Giant. It is the largest wooden roller coaster, and it's really scary to ride on! Well, for me, at least, because when you ride in it, you can feel the rattling and creaking of the wood, and you wonder, "Is it safe or not?" For me, it was worse, because of my small size, I kept sliding down the seat. As the rattling continued, I bumped the sides of my seats over and again. At the same time, I was pulling myself up so that I will not fall off my seat! After the harrowing two-minute experience, I ended up with bruises in more than one place on my body. (Ouch!) There were many other rides, some faster and bigger than that, but they were not as scary...Life's like a big roller coaster ride.
Sometimes you are up,
Sometimes you are down.
Sometimes you get a sudden rush of excitement,
Sometimes there is the foreboding fear of the inevitable.
A combination of confidence, thrill and fear engulfs you.
Sometimes you get bruised, even
Like a roller coaster ride, life is short.
So why do people pay to on a roller coaster ride? What's so intoxicating about the momentary thrill? I couldn't understand it at first, but after experiencing the rides, I began to. For me, it was an accomplishment to overcome the fear of speed and the unknown. In a way, to overcome those fears, I had to let go, and just go on the ride. I guess it's the same with life. It's no use being a control freak, because there are so many unknowns in life. Circumstances can change in a blink of an eye, and they do, at least for me. So the best thing is to really let go and trust God in this big roller coaster ride. Sometimes the ride may seem long, but the length of a person's life compared to eternity is not long at all.
