I have never figured out why people will pay thirty-six dollars to get into an amusement park so that they can rides that scare them silly and raise their stress level to the max. Yet, the amusement parks (I find the name a little strange) would go out of business if it didn't have rides that sent your stress level off the chart. We pay, and pay big, to be beat to death in a little cart dropping off a hill and flipping us upside down two or three times stopping just in time for most people to catch their stomach.

On the other hand, let some outside stress come into life, something we didn't pay for, and suddenly the world is coming to an end. Since everyone says we can't have stress, or at least not the kind we don't pay for, then we must have a fix.

"Doctor just give me a vacation, some place warm please." "Can't do that? Well -- maybe a pill? A drink?"

How come we can be so brave and tough on the roller coaster and be so whimsy and whinny when the boss wants the job done by five? Actually, I've done a done a little thinking on this matter (Some of you stop laughing right now!). I think I have come up with four simple reasons why "unpaid for" stress get us down so quickly.

First, life's stress events get us down so easily because we are not expecting them. On the roller coaster you knew when you got to the top of the hill that stress was shortly coming. No one can predict exactly when stressful event in life come but we do know they will. A life that is "prayed up" and in touch with God is prepared when those stress related moments come. God's safety straps of love help you hold on and you of his care. The closer you are to Him the easier it is to hold on.

Next, we doubt or forget the security and safety of the Lord. When some youth from my church talks me into riding one of those silly rides, I do so only because I believe that they are somewhat safe. You would never get anyone, with any sense, to ride one of those things it they thought they might really die. When life sends us through the loop, it is assuring to know God is with you all the way. We get stressed out when we forget that we can depend on the security and protection of the Lord.

Another reason the amusement ride is fun and normal everyday stress events drain us is because we lose sight of the end. No matter how high the hill, no matter how fast the ride, no matter how many loops, the roller coaster ride has the glorious end when you can stop and get out. The knowledge that there is an end has helped me through many a tough ride in life. Focus of the simple truth that what every event has an end.

Lastly, but perhaps the single greatest reason we get stressed in everyday life but survive and enjoy the stress of riding "The Wild Thing," is our mindset. We go to an amusement park with the full intention of riding the rides for the thrill of it. We make it fun (Okay some of us do). When we view life with the mindset that this is going to be fun, suddenly stressful events aren't any more that a roller coaster ride.

Hang on tight and enjoy the ride!