Rollercoasters

I can never escape from your Spirit!
I can never get away from your presence!

If I ride the wings of the morning,
if I dwell by the farthest oceans,

even there your hand will guide me,
and your strength will support me.

~ Psalm 139:7, 9-10 NLT

You know those people who, while riding rollercoasters, throw their hands up, laugh, and seem to really be enjoying the ride? I’m not that person. But somehow, I got talked into riding the Cheetah at Busch Gardens. A friend convinced me that this ride didn’t feel at all like a rollercoaster and I’d like it. The ride was everything I expected… It was smooth, fast, and SCARY! I screamed and cried the WHOLE ride, and continued to cry and shake when it was over.

Recently, I was talking with a friend and likened my life to that of a rollercoaster: fast, out of my control, and filled with lots of turns and drops. I wanted life to feel more like a smooth cruise down a lazy river. But that’s not reality. And truly, we’re much stronger now than we’ve ever been.

So why the fear? The sudden curves tend to catch me off guard. But through my dependence upon and closeness with Christ, I’m better able to be like the other rollercoaster riders: throwing my hands in the air, relinquishing my control, and laughing, remembering that through Christ we have the victory and He will bring us through this, too.

If, like me, you’ve been looking for a way off the rollercoaster of your life, then it’s time we change our perspective. Christ came so we could have life to the fullest, which include victory and laughter. I’ve discovered the closer I draw to Christ, I’m purposefully throwing my hands up in joy and praise, laughing as I realize I was never in control of anything.

©Heather Potts 2016