A couple of weeks ago I went with our youth group to Carrowinds. I’ve never been the type to live for amusement parks – unless of course it’s Disney! When I do go to parks, I usually find myself doing everything I can to stay off the big, scarry roller coasters. I guess it’s just my nature. But in the last 10 years, I have found myself agreeing and even wanting to ride one or two roller coasters. I was recently at Disney’s Animal Kingdom with my pregnant wife and 2 year old daughter, I decided to ride the new “Mt. Everest” roller coaster. I DECIDED w/ no one questioning my “man hood”. I DECIDED w/ no one yelling, “It’s not that bad”! I wanted to ride a roller coaster because I knew it would be fun. I would feel the big drops, I would experience the rush of not knowing what would come next. And when the ride was over – it was worth it!
The “D-tales”, as I have penned the title to my life, has been relatively roller coaster free. The roller coaster’s of life are not something that I just go looking for. I guess it is my nature. However, recently I have gotten on one of those metaphorical roller coasters. I’ve gotten on coaster that has some big climbs and even bigger drops. The unknown was what this coaster was known for.
There’s something about real roller coasters that is true of all of them. A real roller coaster always ends where it starts. This is not always true of those metaphorical life roller coasters, but recently for me the metaphor holds up. THe last several roller coasters that the “D” tales have taken me on has ended where they’ve started. So should life take you for a ride and drop you off at the same point? Every roller coaster I’ve ever ridden has been worth the ride – even the most recent ones. Roller coasters have left me with stories, experiences, rushes and even a little dizzy – but never the same even though I’ve ended up right back where I started. My most recent ride has left me different. It’s left me with a passion for discovery, a call to discipline and discipleship, and a love for God’s present gifts. So my conclusion: Roller coasters are worth the ride!
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Well hot dog! I got a new “D” Tale to read.
I love the roller coasters! Blame in on Drew Holland. He’s the one that finally got me to get on some back in the day at Carowind’s for Super Summer or whatever they used to call it. At that point, I had just barely passed the height requirement to get on most of them.
I guess the same could be true of life. We don’t all ride the same roller coasters or we ride them at different. We may not be in the right point in life to ride a certain roller coaster. Or you have to make it through several roller coasters before you meet the “height requirement” for the next coaster.
Some roller coasters we ride by ourselves and I think those can be the toughest because you’re riding with some complete stranger and you want to come across as, “yeah, i’m not scared. i know what i’m doing on this thing.” Then you end up screaming like a little girl coming down the first hill. Then there are ones you get to ride a friend beside you. Those roller coasters can still be scary, but at least you’ve got someone there to help you along and scream with you going down the hills.
Good stuff man. I look forward to the next “D” Tale. I’ll have to show you how to import this thing into Facebook and then all the youth would be able to see if from there. I hope you’re having a great week and I’ll talk to you soon!
Roller coasters are so worth it.. in life and at amusement parks:) But sometimes they leave me with an upset stomach, and I stay clear of any roller coasters for a while, then I forget about how they made me feel and the next time I goto a park thats the first thing I ride! In a metaphorical way of speaking the journey of a roller coaster by yourself can be impowering and scary. I still haven’t made that jump to ride one by myself, but hopefully I can brave-up like you Daryl and face my fears:)
PS- I think this blog idea is a great one, keep it up!