Roller Coaster Life

I've not been a great blogger the last couple of weeks - I didn't even realize it had been so long til right now when I looked at my last post... well, the last two weeks have been anything but boring. I feel so blessed to be an active part of what God is doing.

I was just reminded of this verse on one of my student's blogs -

John 10:10, "I came that they might have life and have it more abundantly."

These are Jesus' words. I clearly am "they" and realize that this pretty much sums up my life and the way I embrace it. That's the reason it resonated with me so strongly when I came across it. I guess I'm not one to capture complacency very well or sit on the sidelines and think about the things I wish I had gone after. I don't ever want to be accused (even if its just me doing the accusing) of not doing something God invited me to participate in because I didn't have the means right in front of me. I don't ever want fear to paralyze me into staying in my comfort zone and miss out on the wild ride that God promises if I step out believing that He'll lead and forage the way.

I guess it reminds me of riding a roller coaster that I've never been on before. You know the kind - where you can't see what's over that ginormous mountain you're ascending or on the other side of the corkscrew, but when you're falling, you've never felt more alive (maybe cuz you've never felt closer to dying!) and at the end , arriving safely at the dock, feeling exhilarated, relieved, maybe a little sick and wishing you could do it again and again (at least when you're my kids' ages).

Figuratively speaking, I don't ever want to be the old person (this is definitely up to interpretation as some of my kids' friends never wanted to go on the roller coaster & I remember my mom who was younger than I am now watching us go. But there's a reason we don't see many senior citizens running from ride to ride - well, except for that wacko old guy on the Great America commercials...) who watches every one else go on the rides.

OK, so maybe my body doesn't like them as much as it used to, but I find it way too easy to go down that virtual road of "sitting this one out" as time goes on if I don't remind myself of what could be.

You know how some people are addicted to the adrenaline rush - like my nephew who's an amazing snow boarder and doesn't care if he breaks a thousand bones in the process - I'm addicted to the rush of when I'm a part of something greater. Something that only God can do. Something I can't do on my own. Something I don't have the natural means for. I see Him accomplish jaw-dropping things and in some little way, I was a part of it - along for the ride.

I know that somewhere on the way I may throw-up a time or two at the sheer velocity or stomach-dropping cliff I've fallen down at breakneck speed. But I have absolute confidence that I'm on the track and I can't fall off as long as I keep that super heavy shoulder harness on. The one that gives you the freedom to throw your hands in the air, scream along the way and trust that somehow you're going to make it to the end. This seems to be the Word of God and I find myself clutching it through every turn and cliff.

Jesus said, "If you remain in Me and My words remain in you, you can ask whatever you wish and it will be given you." - John 15:7. It's a constant thing. Not something you can choose to look at once in a while. Well, you can, but you're in danger of falling off the ride and missing out on God's track with the safety devices in place.

I'm so fortunate, blessed, grateful... to have a husband who wants to get on the ride with me.

This is huge as to why we're adopting. So much common sense says that we should sit out this ride and we get that. Yet, when God offered the invitation to get on the ride, we found we just had to go. Of course, we had the choice - God pretty consistently gives us that option - but every ride He's taken us on up to this point has been more than we could have anticipated. How could we miss out on this one?

Rascal Flatts has a great song that talks about this...
See you on the roller coaster -
TrueMom