“Trust in Him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to Him, for God is our refuge.”                                                                                                                   Psalm 62:8 (NIV)

Throughout high school and college, I worked at a large family amusement park. As an employee in the rides department I had the opportunity and took the initiative to become a ride operator. Through that process, I was trained to operate all of the rides in the park from a variety of roller coasters to the carousel. 

Part of my duties as a ride operator and foreman was to complete safety checks twice a day which included actually riding the ride or a group of rides where I was working. I never got tired of this. What a great job! I got to talk to people, work with my friends and ride the rides – no waiting!

Like most unbridled teens, I loved the thrill of the roller coasters the most. I was always ready to experience the next bigger, faster thrill ride they would build. Yet, as an old soul in a young body, I also appreciated the tranquility and peaceful atmosphere of the old carousel perched in isolation upon a wooded hill. 

While in my youth I most preferred the excitement of the thrill rides. Today, I am not as brave or spontaneous. I am not so willing to jump onto the nearest closest roller coaster for an adventure. I have traded my carefree, let’s-try-everything attitude for one with a little more caution. 

When I visit an amusement park, I no longer race from one ride to the next, visiting the larger thrill rides multiple times. No, when given the choice, I prefer to take a more leisurely approach and space out my heart-racing experiences. I am careful to choose wisely.

In our daily lives, however, we don’t always have the choice.

In life, you can find yourself stuck in the mundane – a repetitive circuit. Safe, consistent, relaxed – like the carousel. Then, before you know it you are thrust onto a roller coaster. Climbing, falling, dipping, swerving – plummeting breathless into the unknown. 

This can be terrifying, especially if you didn’t see it coming.

Equally as terrifying can be the thought that you are stuck on the carousel. No change in sight. Everything is predictable. 

It really doesn’t matter where you find yourself on any given day at any given time in your life. Whether you are in the midst of the chaos of kiddie land or kicked back in a quiet corner watching all of the action, God is there. Have no fear. 

As you are holding on white-knuckled while life tosses you about and your heart sinks into your stomach, have no fear. Pour out your heart’s desire and know He is your refuge – your redeemer. 

Whether you are on a death-defying, you-never-know-what’s-next kind of roller coaster or experiencing the routine course of the carousel, turn to the one who loves you – your refuge and strength. He will ride it out with you!