The State Fair was in N.C. a couple weeks ago. Maybe you were there, eating lots of things that you'd only try once a year, or maybe spending boatloads of money trying to shoot a plastic bathtub ducky out of the water as it wobbled by (just one more shot!), or maybe you rode some of the wild rides that promised thrills, but mostly made you feel a little sick. Good times.
For several years now, I've been on a wild ride. Not a fair ride, but something far better...
About 6 years ago, I first felt God calling me into something more, to take another step and find out for myself what it would be like to live closer to Him. I felt Him nudging my heart to learn more about Him and to help other people do the same. I knew He was calling me into some kind of counseling, but I was not sure exactly what that meant.
And then He did the sweetest thing....He showed me a picture. As I was praying early one morning, He very clearly gave me a picture of myself, getting off of a rollercoaster. Standing there waiting as I got off of the ride, I saw Jesus. He looked right at me and said, "Wasn't that a GREAT ride?" And with all the enthusiasm and exhilaration of a kid, I said, "YES!" And that is exactly what it has been like.
Counseling from God's Word has been full of ups and downs, twists and unexpected turns, and alot of thrills! It has never, not once, been boring or mundane. It has been very scary at times, but there has never been a single moment that I felt alone. There is nothing more amazing than having a front row seat to watch the Holy Spirit work in someone's life...to see God free them from something that has been debilitating in their life, or to see Him restore someone's marriage, or watch in awe as someone comes to know Christ for the first time, or comes back to Him after years of being lost, to witness the lord bring someone back from the brink of suicide to a heart full of the joy of knowing Him. There is another amazing thing that happens every time I get on this ride with someone and we climb the steepest hills imaginable, cascading to the bottom and suddenly turning and twisting, our stomachs somewhere behind us. There is a bond that forms. We laugh together, we cry together, we pray together (alot) and we both experience His greatness and power together. It is the heart of sisterhood, knit together by Christ and it is a treasure of inexpressable value.
Today, I was having a difficult time expressing to one of my dear sisters in Christ, how I'd been feeling lately. I tried to articulate how I had been experiencing this strong desire to have my whole life be so connected to Him, that there was never any separation, that everything would be about Him. I told her that I could feel it building every day, every week. My eloquent friend looked at me and said, "It's like you're at the top of a roller coaster and you're about to go down that big, steep hill. You can see it right in front of you and the anticipation is palpable!" There it was...the rollercoaster, the ride I was on and the One, Who will be with me on this next adventure, gave me the sweetest reminder of His Presence in it all, with her words that took me back to where it had all started.
And that is where I am...I know that something very exciting is coming, a new adventure and a thrilling ride. I don't know all the twists and turns, but I know one thing with all certainty. If it is the ride He has for me...I don't want to miss one second!
It is what we are all made for, to know Him and the greatness of His love. Nothing, no not one thing, compares to the joy of knowing Him, and of sharing that love with others!
So what are you waiting for? He has a more thrilling ride than any state fair or amusement park could ever build, and it is designed just for you. So hop on. If you do, when you step off at the end, and He asks you what you thought, you too, can say with a childlike excitement, "That was the best ride EVER!" 