I've been going through my blog to find posts to put into the kids' private blogs I have started as a way of journaling the early part of their lives. I just about scrolled past this post when my curiosity about what the title meant made me pause. I'm glad I did.
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Life is full of twists and turns. Think of the time you sit on the front row of the roller coaster. The bright sun shines in your eyes while your stomach probably feels a little like butterflies when you strapped yourself in, thinking "Why am I doing this?" Then, the ride jerks forward and your body feels a little tense. You know it's going to be alright and you know you're going to have fun but the adrenaline just takes it's time hitting. Once it does, every twist and turn is exciting and you may have even found enough courage to raise your arms before the camera shoots while you're hanging upside down. What a memory! You hop off the ride, running to get in the line for another go.
Sometime, the rides we take are in the dark. We know there will be twists and turns, ups and downs but whether or not we got over the first scary loop, we're already shooting into the next. Sometimes there is no time to catch your breath before the next twist takes it away again. The thrill of the ride is lost in the dark unknown. You can't quite explain what you've just been through before you've been thrown into the next loop. There doesn't seem like there will ever be a break in the uncontrollable speed of the ride. You can hardly wait until the ride slams to a stop. But then it does. When you pull your body up and out of the seat, you trudge off, hoping to never see that ride again, let alone be a passenger. You even debate whether or not to leave your lunch in the bushes near by.
The thing is ... it just may be the same roller coaster. Sometimes we get to feel the rush of the wind on our face and sometimes that same wind overwhelms us. Whether it's light or dark while you zoom through the twists and turns, the ride goes on. The difference is the light. The light is when (or what) makes us feel safe, it gives us the power to hold on until the end of the ride and hopefully, helps us even enjoy the ride.
I just gotta find the switch to turn on these darn lights.
Written April 26, 2012.
