The year of the Titan

Every year after Christmas, Chris and I head to Six Flags with our dear friends to ride as many roller coasters as we can in one afternoon. Seeing the big 4-O right around the corner, we just need to prove to ourselves that we still have it in us to be young and fearless. (And the reality that ChellBell is still 7 or 8 years away from the prime of her roller-coaster-riding-days means that I have to stay practiced-up, so I can keep up with her).

We always hit the Titan first, which shatters my nerves just to look at. This thing is tall and scary. Seriously Tall and Seriously Scary. The worst part is the clink, clink, clink up that first steep hill. The clink, clink, clinking goes on for what seems like an hour. And then, as you sit at the top of the world looking way down at the ant people below, it becomes very very quiet. No more clinking. Your brain gets just enough time to process the fact that you have gone UP and now you will plummet DOWN and every ounce of trust you had in that roller coaster comes unglued, and it is scary.

2008 has started off a lot like the Titan for us. We jumped on, hoping for a fun ride. Then we started to hear the clink, clink, clink and realized that we prefer the Merry-Go-Round…

The clinking has stopped now, and we are sitting on the top of the hill. Terra Firma looks very far away. My brain is processing that this year our dear friends will move away, we will have new children in our home that will cause disruption (blessed disruption, but disruption nonetheless), and that we will face the journey of fighting cancer with my Mother. And I don’t think I’m ready for any of those things.

I can't seem to find an escape up here, so down we will go, hanging on for dear life. And remembering that people have gone here before. And survived. And that being afraid doesn’t make the roller coaster stop. And that we have a trustworthy God who's maintaining this roller coaster and has given the thumbs-up for our ride.

Whheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!