Sometimes We Just Don’t Get to Choose the Ride

Roller coasters are not my forte. My favorite ride at Six Flags Over Texas was Yosemite Sam’s Gold River Adventure. In case you missed this gem, you sat in a boat and floated gently into a cave while cool mist floated gracefully down upon you to provide reprieve from the lava Texas temperatures while enjoying the Looney Tunes scenery on the slow glide through the cave. The
worst thing that could happen would be that Yosemite Sam caught you off guard with his silly antics along the way. No loops or twists and turns to make your stomach lurch. Just a nice easy journey.

Despite my better judgement, my darling husband persuaded me to ride a roller coaster years ago. He crooned, “The technology now is so advanced. These coasters are so smooth that you won’t even feel the turns.” I think his final words on the matter were something like, “It’ll be great!” As I buckled myself into the contraption, my feet dangling underneath the seat, I felt
intuitively that what was about to befall me would be anything but great.
It took thirty minutes of sitting still and sipping a lemonade for me to gather myself after that little jaunt.

Sometimes we just don’t get to choose the ride. We have all been on a roller coaster for months by no choice of our own. In transparency, anxiety has reared its head and has taken up more real estate in my mind than I would like to admit. Twists and turns, changes and adjustments loom in the distance. They catch us off guard and sometimes leave us reeling.

How do we find hope when we find ourselves in difficult times? When everything ‘normal’ in our lives is flipped upside down?

How wonderful it is that God designed us to live in community and unity with one another (Psalms 133:1) and navigate uncertainties together.

I have had the blessing of deepening a friendship over the course of the last few months with a woman almost fifty years my elder whose wisdom spans far beyond my years. We have laughed, sometimes felt like crying, and shared stories. She has spoken countless nuggets of wisdom that have shaped the course of my thoughts for the better. She is an example to me of
how hope is always present, even in the face of adversity. Health trials have come her way, but she faces them with fierce tenacity and determination, refusing to give up or give in to circumstance. She keeps going. She keeps trying. She keeps hoping. She inspires me to do the same.

I don’t know where our roller coaster is headed next, but I’m thankful to be riding it with dear friends and family who offer support, lend an ear when life feels like a flailing mess, and champion me through seasons of hardship. As the writer of Hebrews reminds, “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” (Hebrews 11:1 NIV).

Confidence in what we hope for. Assurance about what we do not see. We cannot see the grandeur of what His hand is orchestrating through these trials. They become part of the tapestry of our lives; a testimony of His goodness and faithfulness regardless of our circumstances. Trials help us to realize that He is continually refining the good work He began in us, and He will bring it to completion on the day Jesus Christ returns (Philippians 1:6).

As we begin the journey of 2021, we can be sure of one thing. Sure of our King.