I love adventure. I was built for adventure. So like most adventurous people, I like rollercoasters. Although I have always loved adventures and even a good road trip, the problem is that I get motion sick very easily. I found this out the hard way when I went to Six Flags my senior year of high school. After two or three rides, I was out for the count and needed to recuperate.
I’m not saying that all of our lives are like an amusement park, but I think certain seasons are similar to roller coasters.
Just like an attraction at an amusement park, we get on, the ride is fast, exciting, sometimes a little terrifying, and then it comes to a complete stop where we get off to do something else.
Because I am a very feelings-forward person and also a fun-oriented person, I have to be very careful because my tendency is to try to create unnecessary rollercoasters where there are none.
When I am not seeking the Lord on what He wants for a particular season of my life, I have often ended up just like my trip to Six Flags--motion sick and disappointed that my plan didn’t work out the way I thought it would.
Recently, I’ve been thinking about a word that the Holy Spirit spoke over me a while ago. Last year, I was struggling with surrendering my plan for my life. There was a man in my life that I was CONVINCED was the one. He had always been a friend to me, but I was reading between the lines to an extreme level. One day, I heard the Lord say, “Release your grip.”
I saw an image in my mind’s eye of me on a rollercoaster. I had two options for how I was going to ride it.
I could white-knuckle it the whole way, or I could release my grip, put my hands up and have a good time.
I hope you don’t do what I did. For a full year, I chose to continue to grip tightly to what I thought was right until the Lord had to humble me and pry my plan out of my hands because it was taking His place in my life.
For all of us who may be going through a roller coaster season or not, the book of Proverbs has some wisdom for us. Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all of your heart; lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight.”
The reason I was having such a hard time was because I was trusting my own logic instead of trusting God.
Even in Isaiah it says that His ways are higher than our ways. We may see the path in front of us, but He always sees around the corner. I made my path twistier and more difficult because I thought I knew best. Even though I fell flat on my face and made a huge mistake, I am so thankful that God is a good Father. He picked me up and I know He still has goodness in store for me. I know that He does for you too.
Once I finally let go of making things go the way I wanted them to, I felt a release.
I’m still single, but now I have a lot of peace about what the Lord is going to do next. Even though nothing came of the relationship I mentioned previously, I genuinely feel free and unhindered by jealousy. Ironically enough, I am in a similar rollercoaster season now, and since I’ve chosen to trust God’s plan instead of mine I can go into everyday challenges with peace and joy instead of disappointment, regret, and pride.
Now, I like to see my life as a road trip with Jesus. He gets to drive, and I am in the passenger seat (picking the best tunes, obviously). When we’re in the car together, I can relax and know that He’s going to take care of me because He is driving. And when it’s time for me to get out and explore, He’ll let me know.
I challenge you no matter what season you’re in, RELEASE YOUR GRIP. Ask the Holy Spirit if you are holding too tightly to something that He can handle without you. It seems counterintuitive when you’re stressed out and overwhelmed and you just want to have some sense of control, but trust me - God’s plan is always better.
He has more than we could ever ask, more than we could imagine, and more than we can fathom in store for us.
If only we would let go.
~ Soquel Filice