I
went to Carowinds with a 10-year-old last week.
Being
the somewhat fearless daredevil that she is,
She
immediately ran to the tallest and fastest roller coaster in the park.
Because
we had fast passes, we didn’t have to wait in line.
Because
we didn’t have to wait in line,
I
didn’t have time to prepare her for what she was going to experience.
It
was her first roller coaster.
She
didn’t know that she would feel like she was going to die when going down that
first hill.
She
didn’t know that screaming helped.
She
didn’t know that she’d feel like she couldn’t breathe.
She
didn’t know that she’d be okay.
Needless
to say,
When
we finished the ride, she was crying.
She
didn’t ride another roller coaster until the end of the day.
She
wanted to face her fear,
And
she did it on another super high, super fast coaster.
This
time, I prepared her for what she’d feel.
I
told her that she would feel kind of scared on that first downhill drop but
that she’d be okay.
I
also told her that it helped to scream.
And
boy did she scream!
She
screamed at the top of her lungs for the entire ride.
She
screamed so loud that other people on the ride turned to see who was
screaming.
While
they looked, I held my ear.
It
literally hurt from her screams.
But.
She
did it!
And
she got off that roller coaster with a huge grin on her face.
We
can’t always be prepared for the ups and downs of life.
Sometimes
they happen and catch us off guard and we end up in tears.
But
sometimes,
Thanks
to a friend or family member or teacher or a book or Podcast or television
show,
We
can garner just enough knowledge to make the ups and downs more manageable and
we end up conquering our fears.
May
you gently offer wisdom to someone today
And
may you receive wisdom in return.
And
if you feel like you’re falling and you wonder if you’re going to
survive,
You
will.
Scream
as you’re able.
And
breathe.
Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment