Lift Me Up

Do not let your hearts be troubled
and do not be afraid.
    —John 14:27

The Texas Star Flyer on the Pleasure Pier in Galveston, Texas, is a gigantic cylinder, to which swings are attached by cable. The cylinder rotates, ascends, and accelerates until strapped-in riders are spinning at hair-raising speed 230 feet in the air.

My son Doug and I watched this beast as it reached maximum speed and we heard a man howl, “Get me down! Get me down!” The Flyer decelerated and started its descent. Midway, it paused and started ascending again. “Noooooo!” shrieked the terrified man. “Get me down! Get me down!”

Sometimes life takes us on a nightmarish ride: marital mess, financial trouble, health scare . . . fill in the blank. We want off.

That’s when we may look in the wrong direction: down, rather than up. Instead of praying “Get me down!” try “Lift me up!”

Faced with crisis favor faith over fear.

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