Roller Coasters or Merry Go Rounds? Words from my Heart by A Texas Artist Laurie Pace

Roller Coasters and Merry Go Rounds

We made a wild dash to FEDEX yesterday to get some paintings out.  Had to put the chicken on low in the oven. 


Nothing like calling and finding out you only have 20 minutes to get somewhere that takes 30 minutes to drive.

When we got back we filled our plates with Terry's yummy lemon roasted chicken and fresh veggies and flipped on a movie he wanted to watch... I think it was called Parenthood.  We came in toward the end of it. It had just started before we made the wild trip to fedex.

 The elderly grandmother in the movie came in to a heated discussion between the husband and wife.  The husband played by Steve Martin, wanted their lives to be safe and perfect in a 'box' where nothing unexpected happened to anyone.  Safety first.  His wife (Mary Steenburgon) was upset with that thought saying life had unexpected surprises. (She was pregnant with a later in life baby).   Grandma came in and began a story about her life and how Grandpa took her to the park to ride the roller coaster and she was a bit afraid, but believed in him that he would keep her safe.

She described her feelings on the ride to be filled with excitement, fear, confusion, chaos, energy, and chills and thrills.   How could anyone experience such contradictory feelings doing one thing?  Many of Grandma's friends choose the safety of the Merry Go Round with its calm circular motion, never going anywhere but in a calm circle. 

Grandma preferred the ride that took you to emotional highs and lows and you experienced ups and downs and twists and turns over the small circles of those colorful horses spinning together.

So I guess the wild ride to Fedex was living on the frantic side!  Seriously though God has offered much to us in our lives and He is our safety.  You cannot truly appreciate happiness without sadness. You cannot appreciate the good times without the bad times. He walks it all with you.  

That Merry Go Round is pretty boring... just in circles. How do you want to live your life?

Laurie

“I desire to do your will, my God; your law is within my heart.”” Psalm 40:8 NIV