The Roller Coaster of Life

Today I was thinking about the fact that I can't stand dramatic situations. I'm probably the least dramatic person I know, and yet, drama seems to follow me every step of the way. Even as a teenager, I seemed to steer away from drama, while most of my friends were caught up in one heartbreak or another. I think where I went wrong was that I decided to have a big family. Actually, I shouldn't say "where I went wrong", but that, where I let the drama into my life. If I'd stayed single, and didn't have any kids, or marriage, or friendships, I think I would've escaped most of the roller coaster ride that has plagued my life.

I'm a "dog" person and I love my pups. In particular, my chihuahuas. I have a poodle too, who I love immensely, but I don't put him in the dog category, he's more like one of my kids. We've had him for 13 years and he's pretty dramatic as far as dogs go. At times I think that I could've easily just spent my life on a dog compound surrounded by nothing but dogs. I like to refer to them as my garden. Some people use gardening as therapy, but the fact of the matter is, I kill plants. So, I have my pups who I love to tend to. Working and playing with them are my therapy. There have been many times in the past that I have thought that I care much more for my dogs than I do for the human race. Its probably because I have spent the past 25 or more years working in customer service. Not to mention that dogs will be loyal to the end and love you no matter what as long as you show them love. There are no "I will love you if you give me a bone", or "I will love you if you stay away from that person", with them. They are uncomplicated. They will never talk about you behind your back, nor will they leave you if you don't live life their way. All you have to do is show them love and make sure they are well fed and you've got a friend for life. The only problem is, they really don't make a person strive to be the best that they can be, on a whole. As a matter of fact, they may even cause a person to fall into complacency, because a dog accepts everything about their owners, even the traits that need to be changed.

The fact of the matter is, a healthy person is one who can interact with the general population and still be able to love one another and themselves, even in the worst of conditions. With that established, I have come to realize that I love my family and I love people. Every lasting/happy memory I have involves a human . God has called us to love one another, as stated in John 13:34,

34 "Let me give you a new command: Love one another. In the same way I loved you, you love one another.

And, as much as people can be pains in the butts, they are created in His Image. I've learned, though, that there is a huge difference between love and like. I can honestly say that I love my children with all of my heart, but there have been many times when I didn't like them so much. He doesn't call us to let people run over us or use us. He calls us to love them with a sincere heart. He calls us to care for their souls.

In order to have a successful loving relationship with a person when you have a relationship with God, you must put God at the forefront of that relationship. Everything you do with that person, must be in accordance with God's Word. If it is not, then your life will be filled with more drama than you'll know what to do with. I've found that drama exists in my life because I've toed the line many times and have kept my mouth shut when I knew what was being done was wrong. I made excuses for why I didn't stand up for what I knew was right and I've made excuses for why I allowed myself to behave in ways that I knew was not glorifying to God. When you do that, you will most assuredly have drama in your life. Life is so much more fulfilling and uncomplicated when you let your "yes" be your "yes" and your "no" be your "no" without the excuses to go along with it. Take it from me, I've spent a good part of my adult life hedging around the heart of the issue because I didn't want to hurt feelings or make people uncomfortable. The fact is, the more I did that, the worse the end result would turn out to be.

I have chosen to have a relationship with Jesus Christ. The reason I have chosen His path is because I have tried just about every other path there is and have found that every other path has led to a dead end and unhappiness for me. With Him in my life, I am complete. There is no loneliness and sadness when I'm seeking His favor. But, with that relationship, I have the responsibility to give Him all of me and not half, because that is the deal I made with Him in exchange for everlasting life and peace of mind. Whenever I break my end of the bargain, there are consequences I must face. Most of the time those consequences are for me to have to clean up the messes I've made. Have I mentioned that I hate cleaning up messes?!

In Ezekiel 23:35 it say:

35 "Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Since you have forgotten me and turned your back on me, you must bear the consequences of your lewdness and prostitution."

Now, let me make myself clear, I don't believe I've ever been lewd, nor have I ever prostituted myself in the literal sense of the word, but when you're not going in accordance to God's Word, you are going against Him, which means that you are essentially prostituting yourself to the world. Yuck! Now that sounds lewd! That's why, as a christian, I must take commitments seriously. I want nothing more than to thrive in God's love. But, even more than that, I want my children to thrive in His love too. And, the only way I know to show them, is by living it myself. God is good and He only wants our love and devotion.

Proverbs 11:28

28 A life devoted to things is a dead life, a stump; a God-shaped life is a flourishing tree.

If we will just trust in God and give Him control of our lives we will no longer have to carry our own burdens. In today's roller coaster of a life, there are so many burdens that cross our paths. So much heartbreak. I have tried to live without God calling the shots, and each time I have failed. You ask me, "how do I know there is a God?" I will tell you, that its because of the times that I've lived without Him that I know that He exists. I am unable to live a healthy/happy life without Him!

Psalm 55:22

22 Give your burdens to the LORD, and he will take care of you. He will not permit the godly to slip and fall.

The fact is, life is a roller coaster. We can either be terrified of it and refuse to ride it, or we can sit back securely strapped into our seats and enjoy the ride, all the while, knowing that our Father will carry us through it.