The Ride of Life

I saw another metaphor for life in Disneyland. I don’t like roller coasters. I never have. And so I would watch the grand children not tall enough for the roller coaster while my children rode. From my vantage point I could see them speed by and watch as the coaster chugged up the hills and then raced down. From where I sat, I could also see the thing make a loop at harrowing speed and turn everyone upside down.

Our quest for celestial life is a lot like the roller coaster. As much as we would like our spiritual growth to be a slow, calculated step by step upward journey, it is not. Instead, for some reason, we need to experience the downs as well as the ups. We need to be pushed out of our comfort zones and shaken up a little bit. We have slumps when we just don’t do it right, but then we can repent and go back up. There are even days and times and experiences when everything turns upside down. During the down times and the upside-down times we need to remember that down and upside-down are not us. They are conditions or states we are going through, but those conditions don't define us. We are children of God and our eternal trajectory is up and forward. UP and going forward is what we are. That is us.

Another important thing to realize is that in the end, the coaster always arrives back at the starting place, in our symbolism back with our Heavenly Father, and the thought that the ups and downs and all arounds are only temporary can give us the courage and the knowledge we need to hang on for the ride.