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| Life on the Scream Machine |
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Life is like a rollercoaster. Sounds profound, doesn’t it? Well, if it’s not profound, it does bear some resemblance to reality. Last week Six Flags filed for bankruptcy. I felt a pang of sadness. Due to its proximity to my hometown, Six Flags Over Georgia was our amusement park of choice in my childhood, not Disney World. In those days, it was the “Great American Scream Machine” that everyone wanted to ride. Some of you might remember it. It still exists. It is one of those old wooden-track roller coasters. You board a car, set the seat restraint in place, depart the station casually, and then it starts— Click, Click, Click … The caravan of coupled cars proceeds up the first slope. At this point, the whole thing seems easy enough. First timers might even think it isn’t so bad. The height offers you a tremendous view of the park. “Oh, look! Over there …” Click, Click, Click … You breathe a sigh of relief. Your hands, white-knuckled, relax a bit. Click, Click, Click … The coaster continues its climb. It begins to dawn on you that what has gone up, must come down. “Wow. That is a really steep …” The coaster crests the hill—a mountain really—and then, all at once, it lunges forward, hurtling down the track. Your hands are once again holding whatever (or whoever) they can find, while your stomach is a few hundred feet behind you. One moment the centrifugal force is compressing you in your seat, the next it is lifting you from it. And just when you think you can’t take much more, the cars start to slow and … Click, Click, Click … You get an unexpected reprieve. This time, you are wiser for the experience. You relax, yes, but with the golden knowledge that you won’t be able to do that forever. Yes, you know that you had better enjoy it because … Whoa!! Life really is like a rollercoaster. For the Christian, it alternates between periods of trial and those of relative calm. Sometimes, it might feel like it is more of the former than the latter, but none of us experience unremitting trial, though it may, at times, seem like it. God in His rich mercy gives His children blessed respites. We find them in good health, in prayer, in bills that are paid, in the Bible, and in any number of God’s tender mercies. Part of the reason why Christians are commanded to gather together is the fact that there is strength to be found in the fellowship of the faithful. At Fixed Point Foundation, the summers are a time of preparation. That usually means a time of relative peace. Our normal, hectic schedule of events, Bible studies, speaking engagements, etc. hibernates briefly. Click, Click, Click … This fall, however, we will crest the hill and careen down at breakneck speed—Brazil, UNC, Seeking Seven and so on. For now, though, it seems pleasant enough as we steadily climb the great mountain before us. Click, Click, Click … By the way, Six Flags is still in business. I think I'll take the family over there and ride the “Great American Scream Machine.” I am sure that it is not as bad as I remember it. “The Lord gives strength to His people; The Lord blesses His people with peace.” —Psalm 29:11 |
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