The Ride of My Life

The Ride of My Life


What kind of passenger are you on the “ride of your life?”

Are you confident that gravity and the weight of your solid body will keep you firmly planted in your temporary place? How does the cold metal or thinly padded seat make you feel? Do you accept it knowing its design is to accommodate all shapes and sizes? Do you believe you can handle and enjoy the speed, twists, turns, and jerks that its creator went to great pains to design for you? Do you have faith that you will arrive safely, satisfied and yearn for more when it is all over?

In varying degrees, we indulge, bear and consent to the time and ways in which we choose to go through the different experiences of our lives. We move forward on our journey and proceed with a certain amount of excitement, confidence, fear or indeterminate state.

We may have been in this place before. However, our experiences are not the same every time. Some are more memorable, scary and foolish than others depending on our outlook and emotional scars.

Our mindsets can vary through feelings of self-assuredness, comfort, or skepticism because we feel the strap designed to protect us is unnecessary, snug, or too loose.

Nonetheless, our past experiences definitely shape our attitude toward our excursions. And one would think we would learn quickly which rides work for us and which do not. We may even naively fight with controlling thoughts of our own destiny when in fact the ride determines the way.

However, it seems that our intricate brain can have a mind of its own. It has the ability to quickly forget, conveniently ignore, or can even block out an undesirable experience.

This same mind can be determined to remind us about horrific experiences and seem to easily recall in great detail the ugly knot in our gut when something makes us feel uneasy.

However, we should be mindful, thankful and grateful that our intellect can miraculously block out all gray matter and reveal good, encouraging, dazzling and cheerful highlights of our encounters.

What is certain is that we know the ride of our life will roll on forward whether we embrace the excursion or not. However, the truth of this certainty can leave us feeling dumbfounded and sometimes inept.

When we are insecure we brace ourselves for the steep inclines we know will cause anxious feelings and the sudden drops that will make our hearts and stomachs feel detached from our beings.

When we are scared we tolerate, sometimes badly, feelings of unwelcoming discomfort, anxiousness, and nausea. Our apprehensive hands will hang on tight to the stiff bar, while we press our fingers until they are white even before the first sign of a jerk or motion.

We may even scold ourselves for being coaxed, misled or taunted into a precarious situation. We might sit upright with a rigid posture begging for the end of this disturbing emotional expedition to be over even before it’s begun.

Think about how different it would be if we were truly educated about safety, believed we were emotionally prepared for the ups, downs, and turns, and spiritually excited over the fact that God made man capable to design such things. With these good strong foundational tracks we could enjoy and expect our ride to always satisfy us making us yearn for more.

It is in this bone fide and sanctified state of spiritual well being and preparedness that we can experience a whole other array, a rainbow if you will, of colors of emotions and attitudes toward our life’s expeditions.

Become a true “ride of your life” enthusiast so you can embrace the thrill, excitement, anticipation, and adrenaline that will rush through your veins.

There are colorful and pleasurable experiences to be had, straight ways and turns to bring vivid satisfaction, and incredible multihued indulgences of heights, tunnels and flatlands to share and relish in.

Don’t talk yourself out of experiencing and enjoying every unexpected turn, harsh jerk, exciting surprise, and unforeseen let down. Tap into the optimist and adventurer in you.

Rather than thinking that last dip and turn didn’t do much for you, you’ll be anticipating from the edge of your seat, waiting wide eyed and expectantly, filled with electrifying emotions, and enlivened by a yearning for that next incredible “wow moment” just around the bend.

Each day you have an opportunity to stand with confidence in line, holding your ticket proudly, and gladly wait for your turn to step in.

When you get there, to the front, take your place, buckle yourself in, and then shout out, “Come on -- coaster of life. Bring it on. I’m ready for my ride.”

Epilogue

Tug, tug, click, click, higher and higher I rose. I got to the to top of the climb. I knew I couldn’t turn back. Feeling as though there were no tracks below me, my imagination had gone wild. It’s as if we were suspended in air on a toothpick. Then slowly, we tipped forward and we rushed straight down. The wind was fierce and from the speed my face was frozen with a picture of delight, awe and trepidation! We twisted, turned, jerked, stopped, rushed, rose and fell! Then after the last crazy loop we came to a final and abrupt screeching halt.

My head jerked forward from the final jolt, and the blood slowly came back into my face and hands. The saliva in my mouth was trying desperately to find its normal place in the nooks and crannies of its home just minutes before. The pounding of my heart matched the exciting pounding in my head and they both quickly with incredible memory took a dip back toward normal.

I sat there a moment, gathered my crazy thoughts and scooped up my wild emotions and yelped, “Wow! Awesome! That was the ride of my life!”

Inspired by Mark 8:1-10.



Thank you Lord, my God, my Savior.

Everyday you provide me with wonderful gifts that
I want to enjoy.

Help me to take on with confidence the disappointments
and harsh punches of life with complete trust in You.

Help me to build my faith so that in times of weakness
and celebration I will know your unending love.

Give me confidence and hope to look past my own desires
so that I can see and enjoy what you have waiting for me
now and at the end of my ride.

Amen