So, the Lord gave me this friend, and I remember that early in the relationship with her, I questioned God’s wisdom in all of that. I knew her a little, but not very well, and one Sunday at potluck after church services, we were in the kitchen preparing things, and I said something to her that was not particularly funny. But, she always laughed at things that I said. The woman was always tickled about something, and this day was the limit. I made my comment, she laughed, and I said, “Why are you always laughing at me?” This must not have fazed her, because she kept on laughing and in between chuckles, she said very innocently, “I’m not laughing at you, I’m laughing with you,” to which I quickly replied- “ I’M NOT LAUGHING!!” This only made her burst out laughing again! Can you picture this? I thought- “This woman is not stable!”

The Lord wisely deepened that relationship, and brought balance to my serious life, and challenged me to see life with a better perspective. After being around my friend more and more, The Lord taught me that we can either be way too serious about ourselves and life, or we can just relax a little, lighten up and enjoy the ride. Life with the Lord of heaven and earth is a great adventure, worth the enjoyment of every minute.

This friend lived in a major metropolis, and was always telling me about the 5 o’clock traffic, which really started at @ 3 o’clock; and the morning 8 o’clock traffic that really started around 6:30. She preferred not to hit those rush hours. On one particular weekend, she had her grandson visiting with her and they were going to go to a football game, where another grandchild was in a drill team performing at the half time. The problem was that the game started at 7:00 pm and was on the other side of town, in an area with which she was totally unfamiliar. That also put her in the 5 o’clock traffic! She had obtained directions to the stadium, but they were very complicated. In fact, she was dreading the trip. Here is the attitude she had, and how she approached the trip. She said to her grandson, “Son, this is going to be an ADVENTURE. We are going to go about it calmly, but this is an adventure, and if we end up at the football game tonight, that is great.” (Did I mention that it had also started to rain?)

That is kind of like how our lives are. We plan, but we may run into road construction along the way, or detours, heavy traffic, rain, bad road conditions, etc. ( In the world you will have tribulation. John 16:33) If we approach life as an adventure with the Lord, we can go about it calmly, with the assurance that wherever the road leads, He is in it all, and we can enjoy the journey with Him.

My serious husband informed me, however, that the bronc rider is not enjoying the ride until after the 8 seconds is over. During the ride, he is holding on for dear life, and it is usually not with a smile. It is only after that buzzer rings, signaling the end of the ride, that he jumps off and rejoices in the ride. He is actually able to enjoy the ride later, when he is talking with the cute lady interviewing him for the rodeo network.

At times our lives will be similar to that experience. During a rough part in our ride with the Lord, sometimes it is all we can do to clutch onto Him and ride out the storm. During all the recent moisture, the dirt roads in our area have become virtual mud slides. One clutches the steering wheel, prays hard and just tries to keep the vehicle somewhere between the bar ditches, hoping to make it home. Not much enjoyment of the ride until we get into our own driveway, realize that the Lord has brought us through yet another trip, and heave a “whew” over the amazement of it all.

By the way, my friend and her grandson did not make it to the football game that evening. They found an ice cream store on the way home in the pouring rain and opted for a sundae instead. That was alright, because the rain at the football game had caused the half time entertainment to be canceled. It was quite an adventure anyway.