I timed the ride; it lasted 1 minute and 30 seconds. It took 45 seconds to leave the station and reach the top of the hill. It took 45 seconds to make the drop, take several loops, do at least two corkscrews, and screech to a stop back in the station house. All it took was one minute and thirty seconds. I was shaking in my shoes when I got on and I was shaking in my shoes when I got off.

“Success is never final; failure is never fatal. It is courage that counts.” Winston Churchill

I used to have a deathly fear of roller-coasters. I still have a deathly fear of roller-coasters. The difference is that I do not fear them enough to stay off of them any longer. I ignore the fear and climb on anyway. I had a terrible fear of flying when I was a kid and I still do but I’ve flown to Israel and Costa Rica and Belize. I ignore the fear and climb on anyway. Yes, I’m afraid but I know that the fear is not resonable. It is an irrational fear of the unknown. I choose to ignore it and climb on anyway.

I feel the same fear as a semester approaches. I feel it when I climb into a pulpit to speak. I feel it when I step up to sing a solo. It is the fear of failure; the fear of embarrassment. Sometimes it grips me so tight that I feel like I can’t breath.

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1.9)

“Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matt. 28.20b)

Of course I’m afraid; we’re all afraid. But we climb on anyway because we know that we are not alone. So, get on the next “roller-coaster” you can and try to enjoy the ride.