Air Time!

I have the “T” Shirt and I wear it proudly. “I survived!” Underneath is written the word Kondaa. For the uninitiated Kondaa is the tallest and fastest coaster in the Benelux region, and reaches a top speed of 70.2 mph (113.0 km/h) and has the world's first non-inverting cobra roll element. It’s big! Just going up the first hill is somewhat frightening. But, as if that wasn’t impressive enough, I rode 34 rollercoasters in three days! I bottled on none of them. I went on everything - even the kiddie rides! I went way too fast, was spun upside down, twisted, accelerated at ridiculous speeds while going backwards and soaked in water! And…I survived. Actually, I did a lot more than survived. I really enjoyed it, the whole thing. Don’t get me wrong, I was freaked out on some of the rides - the first time round at least. Which means yes, I went on some rides more than once! The first ride on the first day was “The ride to happiness!” An interesting name given to the most frightening ride of them all. I have never held on more tightly to anything than I did to the handle bar on that ride. I honestly don’t know how to describe it. But I went on it again. And again. And each time I held on like there was no tomorrow! Maybe for that reason I voted it the best of all the rides. Thing is though, I couldn’t quite bring myself to do “air time” on “The ride to happiness.” Kondaa has 15 opportunities for air time, and by my 4th ride, I was embracing air time like an old timer! Air time is the time you spend out of your seat during the ride. These modern rollercoasters have seat bars that hold you in (nothing that goes over your shoulders) and brave (or stupid) riders allow themselves to lifted off their seat as the coaster races round the track. At first I simply held on with all my might, but gradually I learnt to trust that the seat bar would hold me and there was freedom in going where the ride took me. No seriously, it was great. I even did the last ride of our three days (on Untamed) with my hands in the air all the way round! I learnt to love and embrace air time. You should try it! And it got me thinking: where else in life would I do well to embrace air time? Where else would I do well to let go and live in the moment? Where else would I do well to let go and trust? I might do well to trust God more. If I believe that God has my best interest at heart, which I do, maybe I would do well to trust him in the things I am finding challenging. I am finding church challenging right now. I am wresting with all sorts of things about it. And yet, it’s not my church, it’s his church. Maybe I would do well to give some of the things I can’t solve, the things that keep me awake at night, to him and trust that he will hold me and the church. Why would he not? Trust is not ignoring what’s going on and choosing to do nothing about it. Trust is not abandoning responsibility. Trust is not being stupid. When I chose to get on the rollercoasters, it was a considered choice. Rollercoasters are actually very safe. It is true that sometimes accidents happen, and they are often tragic because of the nature of rollercoasters. Sometimes accidents are a result of human error. But mostly they are remarkably safe. I took a considered view. I wasn’t stupid. And then I made a choice. A choice to trust myself to a ride with a risk. And that’s when I got to experience air time. There’s no air time standing at the side and watching. From everything I know about God and everything I have experienced of God, I have a choice: will I trust him for the next bit? It might seem scary and it might take me way out of my comfort zone, but I might get to experience air time, that time of knowing I am held by God in a way I could not know if stood on the side lines. Zac is now planning a trip to Poland to take us rollercoasters that are twice the size of the ones we went on in Belgium and Holland. And I have a choice. Turns out I have other choices too. And, maybe, so do you!