Valley Fair has many rides, but they are best known for the coasters. They are home to the Wild Thing, Renegade, the Corkscrew (pictured above) and many more, all of which are made up of varying highs, lows, twists, turns, laughs, and in some cases… tears. Yes, tears.

My first ride on the Cork Screw came after much convincing from peers. I stood in line dreading the thought of looping upside down not once, not twice, but several times for a total sum of one minute and 17 seconds of a memory I never wanted to have. I can still remember the moment just before crawling into the car. Me, trying to convince my friends that is was o.k. for me to skip through and meet them at the other side. A hard sell, and I was not the best persuader. Honestly, was the ride that bad? No, not really. But this 11 year old boy thought the world was ending.

Ironically, life seems to feature these same highs, lows, twists, turns and many other descriptive words for extreme situations. As much as you wish to skip over them and not participate, you don’t have a choice. They just happen, and all you can do is close your eyes, breath deep, and hold on tight. Sooner or later, the ride will ease to a stop and present you with a very important opportunity. . .the chance to
get out.

I know some families that are fighting cancer and faced with serious decisions every day of their lives; What they can and can’t do; Where to file the latest bad doctor’s report in their brains; if it’s alright for them to eat sugar, red meat, or have a diet coke. I also know people that are not exactly sure how they’re going to pay for groceries next month, or afford child care so they can go to work, but you’d never know it. They go about life just as steady as can be. There’s almost something calming about being around them.

Then there’s the people that broadcast the fact that their morning is ruined because the lady at the local coffee shop only gave them a single shot but they “need” a double, or that their day has been a complete disaster because they spilled that single shot on themselves because they were checking a text message. Really? How can some people invest so much energy in making so much of so little while others can deal with so many test and trials yet remain unmoved in a situation that would seem as extreme as humanly possible? Regardless of the situation, some people choose to get off the roller coaster, and some choose to stay on it, again and again.

It’s a choice. You have to decide how you are going to live your life. The bible says that every decision we make is either for life and blessing or death and cursing, and than urges us to choose life in every situation. Some of us choose life for the important stuff, like going to church, or praying before a meal; but somehow curses  creep up through our words if by some unfortunate scenario we end up with the wrong coffee or a minor stain. We choose to bless our friends and family but have ill will towards strangers that cut us off in traffic. Up, down, left, right, high, low, so not worth it.

I am getting off the roller coaster. This time. Every time. I am choosing life in thought, words, and deeds.

If you’d like to ride again, go ahead. I’ll wait right here and even hold your bags. You can ride this thing as many times as you want, I don’t care. I’ll just watch you go around in circles, up and down, left and right, side to side. But in the end, you’re really not going anywhere until you decide to get off, and choose life.