Amusement Park: Merry-Go-Round

Amalia didn’t know how to answer Jesus. Go on another ride? She was just barely recovering from the first one. If all the rides here were like the Haunted House, she didn’t know if she could take another ride.

“Can we just sit somewhere? I think I need some time before attempting another ride with You.”

“My thoughts exactly. And I know just the place.”

He led her across the park towards the sound of organ music. When she saw the ride He was heading for, she relaxed. This was perfect. A bunch of horses going up and down – just up and down – while rotating around a large colorful column. Even better, behind a few of the horses were carts that were not moving at all.

“I want to ride on a cart.” Amalia pointed, determined to have as much peace as she could on this ride. The less movement, the less chance something crazy would happen.

“Good idea.”

The ride was pretty much what Amalia expected, with two exceptions. The cart was not quite as comfortable as it had looked, and it wasn’t as smooth. No lying down and sleeping here. As long as she sat up, she could deal with the hard seat, and she had already learned to accept bumps so those didn’t bother her. Instead, she enjoyed focusing on the different parts of the park as they came into her vision. It almost seemed as if she was stationary and the world was rotating around her.

After a while, Amalia’s focus shifted, and she became fascinated with the horses she could see in front of her. They were always moving. At first it looked like they were all doing the same thing. Up. Down. Up. Down. But as she looked closer, she notices something surprising. No two horses looked alike, or followed the same pattern. The red one went up only part way before heading back down. The blue one stayed higher than the others, never making it all the way down. The green one stayed near the floor for longer time periods before heading back up.  And the brown one went up and down at a faster pace than the others. Intrigued with her discovery, she turned to Jesus.

“Have You noticed the horses are all moving in different ways, even though they are all going in the same direction?”

“Yup. That’s what they were created to do. Just like people. There are ups and downs in everyone’s life. Some people, though, seem to stay down longer than up, while some people never seem to get all the way down at all. Some people seem to travel the ups and downs at a leisurely pace, while others race through them. None of them are better or worse than the others, just different. It’s easiest to see that when you sit back and look at the big picture, like we’re doing now.”

“So, if I were on one of the horses…”

“You would see the movement around you, but your own movement might make it harder to see the pattern. It’s good to sit back with Me from time to time to see this, otherwise you might be tempted to compare your horse with the others.”

Amalia could see the point He was making. And then she thought of her own point.

“They’re all going around the same thing – that center column. Doesn’t it contain the motor? And doesn’t the motor supply the power to make these horses move? Wouldn’t that be like God supplying what we need to live this life as long as we stay connected to Him?”

Jesus’ eyes twinkled as He nodded at her. “Excellent! And those who keep God centered will always be close to Him.”

Amalia sat back, delighting in His praise. She knew sooner or later this ride would end, but for now, she was content to be right where she was.

 

 

Scriptures

2 Cor 10:12  Not that we care to classify or compare ourselves with some of those who are commending themselves. But when they measure themselves by one another and compare themselves with one another, they are without understanding.

1 Cor 7:17a  Only let each person lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him, and to which God has called him.

John 15:5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.