Has It Already Been a Year?

Last year, on August 12th, Rachel and I boarded a plane in Bali, Indonesia, and began our long flight back to the United States. So much has been jam-packed into this last twelve months.

Time certainly flies, doesn't it?  Image found here.

Some of it has been difficult...

• a long and bitterly cold winter
• months of work that, although enjoyable, was unstable
• re-adjusting to new dynamics of life back in the States

Some of it has been a blessing...

• reconnecting with people who I rarely saw while living overseas
• seeing Rachel bond with a larger family than just me
• seeing her thrive at school
• being blessed finally with a full-time job

I have learned much about trusting God when I don't see clearly what lies ahead. I am still and always learning that no matter how much I think I know, I can do nothing apart from Him.

I look forward to the adventure of this next year. What will God have in store?

Blessings?

Challenges?

 Sorrow?

Whatever lies in store, I can be certain of this one rock-solid truth.

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. 

Phillipians 4:13

Learning Through Life's Loops

This picture of Cedar Point's Corkscrew is found here.

Tomorrow is a day I have been looking forward to for over a year. It has been at least ten years, I think, since I have visited Cedar Point, one of the very best amusement parks in the world. Seven members of my family are going. I am looking forward to spending time with them.

I am also very much looking forward to the roller coasters. Of all the roller coasters I have ever ridden in my life, I think there is only one I haven't liked. (I won't mention the name of that one here, though.) 

Cedar Point's Mantis - image found here

I thoroughly enjoy the excitement of being taken to the top of a hill and then plunged at high speed down the other side. You say goodbye to your stomach at the top of the hill, and it catches up to you at then platform at the end of the ride. Once you're strapped into the car and it starts to move, there is absolutely nothing you can do about it.

Scary? Yes. 
Exhilarating? Definitely!

There are other rides at the amusement park.

• Rides like the carousel. Tame. Predictable. Safe. 
• Rides like the ferris wheel. True, you have to deal with being pretty high up, but still, much tamer than a rollercoaster.
• Rides like the teacups. You sit in a large teacup and spin as fast or slowly as you choose. YOU are in control. 

Rides like these have their place. After all, it would be a bit hard on the stomach to be subjected to nearly non-stop flips and rolls of rollercoasters all day long. But without the rollercoasters, and amusement park wouldn't be all that interesting.

In life, there are many different things that happen.

• Much of life, like the carousel, is made up of fairly ordinary and tame events. Mundane. Not all that exciting.
• Then, there are the ferris wheel events. These events stretch you a bit, even as the riders of a ferris wheel are stretched to adjust to seeing the world from high in the air.
• There are the teacup-like parts of life. The events that we try to control in some way or other. These adventures are ones that we choose. We get spun around a bit, but we still remain in control.

Cedar Point's Maverick . Image found here.

And then, there are the rollercoaster events. These events can be amazingly exciting in a good way, or they can be terribly painful. 

The journey of adoption.

The journey through illness or injury.

Raising a family.

Losing a job.

Once you are strapped into the car of journeys like these, you can't get off. You have to go through it. You are committed for the entire ride, whether you like it or not.

For the believer in Jesus, we can be assured that we face the ups and downs of these "rides" with the safety restraints in place. Jesus will not send us out to free fall when the train barrel rolls around a loop in the track.

Might we be terrified as our car gets ready to take a steep plunge? Sure.
Might we want to close our eyes as the train goes into a dark tunnel? Perhaps.
Is it possible that we might wonder if, spiritually speaking, our stomachs will ever catch up with us? Probably.
Will there be times when we find it hard to even breathe? Without a doubt.

One thing is for certain, though. After riding one of life's wild rollercoasters with Jesus at our side, we can step out of the car, look at Him and say, "Wow! That was amzing!"

You see, some lessons in life, we can never learn on a carousel. We can only learn it on a rollercoaster.

Has God taught you something on a "rollercoaster" in your life that you would never have learned on a "carousel"? Why not share it in a comment below?