Saturday, May 17, 2008

From Guest Blogger Glen Bryant


Enjoy the Ride


For years I have heard people say “life is like a rollercoaster”, full of up and downs. If you really think about it though, in our lives we consider things to be going well when we are at the top, and bad at the bottom, but on a rollercoaster the best part is leaving the top and screaming down towards the bottom. Overall, I guess you could ask if after all the up and downs, did you enjoy the ride? That’s what makes people decide if they want to keep riding, isn’t it? Life is full of up and downs, so how do we come out at the end with that same excitement we have after getting off a rollercoaster?

I guess it could be the way you look at things. When we are standing on the ground looking up at the rollercoaster, we hear people screaming and we wonder…are they having fun or are they scared to death? It could be both. That seems to represent life more than the actual “ups and downs” thing, doesn’t it? So maybe the secret is finding a way to have fun while you are really scared. In the mist of your fear to know that in the end it’s going to be all right, to know that you are not going to fall off the ride, because something is holding on to you, to “enjoy the ride”.

The other day I was trying to make a decision of whether or not to take the money I had saved and use it to pay off my car loan. It seemed like a good idea since I would save money on interest, but there was the thought of “what if”. You know, what if something comes up and I need that money for some unknown emergency. I’ve been through the ups and downs of finances, so I pondered over it for a couple weeks trying to decide what to do. I thought about buying some bank “CD’s” to earn interest on my money, but that didn’t make sense because the interest I was being charged on the loan was more than I would earn on the CD’s, but at least I would still have the money. Anyway, the good decision for me was to take a chance that I wouldn’t need the money and pay off the loan. As I hit the icon on my computer to send the payment it was a fearful, but good feeling. (Like flying around a corner on a fast moving rollercoaster).

How about when we struggle with loneliness? When we are alone it can be so overwhelming at times that you what to jump on that relationship “rollercoaster” without the safety bar in place, being on the ride is better than waiting in line. Even if we know it’s not safe, it’s better than being a spectator. On the other side, we get so discouraged because of past experiences that we don’t even get on the “relationship” ride because of the fear of being disappointed at the end. We hear the screams of other people and can decide it’s not worth it. We can choose to be a spectator, and the loneliness gets worse. So how do you have fun with this?

I do know that for me, as I go through life there is one thing that gives me comfort. I know as long as I do my best to live my life in a way that honors God, that he is my “safety bar”. (Psalms 37:23-24) I know that as I go through the “rollercoaster” of life, that God is holding on to me. I know that no matter what I’m going through now, that I won’t be disappointed at the end of the ride. I know that every time I’m going through a hard time, that God has something good for me around the next turn. I knew that as I paid that bill, that God had control over any emergency. I know that as I go through periods of loneliness, that God has a plan for my future and who I spend it with. It doesn’t make it “easy”, it makes it “easier”.

The other day I was coming back from a work site about 30 miles away and about half way home I ended up behind some slow moving vehicles. The front one was a truck pulling a trailer and the second was a school bus. So I decided that even though I was in a hurry to get back, that it wasn’t worth risking a dangerous pass. I decided to just kick back and enjoy the ride. (I get paid by the hour anyway). But there were some cars behind me that weren’t feeling the same way. The lady behind me was “chomping at the bit” to get around the slow vehicles and finally did come racing around with a couple others behind her. Well, about five miles down the road, as I was getting back into town, I pulled into the left hand turn lane, and guess who was sitting to my right waiting for the light to change? You guessed it, the lady who risked her, and her kid’s lives to pass had gotten no further than I had. In fact my light turned green to go before hers did! I had to laugh to myself, and I knew that because I chose to accept the situation the way it was, in the end, I had enjoyed the ride.

So try to trust God, accept your situation the way it is, know He has a plan, and “enjoy the ride”!

By Glen Bryant

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