Roller Coasters

I recently pulled out a high school yearbook and was flipping through memories. When I got to the page where my dear friend and former headmaster, Todd Burleson, had written me a note I said, "Ah, that's what he REALLY said!" Since high school I have always remembered what he had written towards the end of the note as, "Life is a grand and glorious roller coaster," and there would be occasions when that quote would pop into my head in moments of intensity or drama. But that's not actually what he wrote. Instead his admonition was a lot more proactive than the quip I had turned it into, "Keep working for the Lord. It's a great roller coaster ride."

Any time I think about the analogy of life being a roller coaster, or any time I ride a roller coaster (which is few and far between these days!) I not only think about Mr. Burleson and his admonition to me to stay the course, but I think of Six Flags New Jersey when the Shores and the Burlesons had one of the most fun times in my memory! The admonition and the fun were forever linked in my mind when I looked around me and saw that my closest friends were there with me, along for the ride—for the ups and downs, the screams of terror and the shrills of laughter. Yes, life is a grand and glorious roller coaster, but Mr. B has reminded me that there is purpose in it and that you never ride alone!