In my life, I’ve seen a similar pattern emerge in a lot of my experiences; that of a roller coaster. On a good roller coaster, you have a lot of time to spend in anticipation, because the hill is a monster to climb.
In a lot of ways, life looks a lot like this coaster – and there are a few great takeaways to gain when you think about it like a ride.
There was a time in my life where I’d ride the proverbial coaster, seeking joy and love. Getting ready for a party felt a lot like the slow tick up a steep hill on a roller coaster. The night would begin and I’d feel the rush of the ride. The coaster would speed towards its’ first loop – Joy – and it could never make it all the way around, no matter how fast the ride was.
Other ‘loops’ were Love, Peace and happiness. I never made it around those loops, either. No matter the roller coaster I tried; be it success, social circles, partying or recognition, it never made it around the loop.
When you go through life without things like Love, Peace and happiness in your life, it’s only a matter of time before your joy begins to dwindle and life loses its spark.
Enter Atlas.
Becoming a parent filled my life with a lot of moments…priceless moments. In mere seconds, I began to experience Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Faithfulness, Gentleness and Self-Control. Instead of the few ‘loops’ I chased before, I dove into a whole amusement park of rides, filled with these ‘Loops’ of the Spirit, or ‘Fruits of the spirit’ as I learned them.
I think for all of the years that I had stepped away from God, the relationship I had was beyond distant; akin to being so far out in space that you can’t see any visible light. Anywhere. It was through moments of parenting that I began to see little fragments of the Father’s love for me, because I was expressing it through my own hands.
A lot of dots began to connect for me; Revelation that certain parts of my life had to change, or be thrown in the garbage entirely.
See, I had spent so many years chasing the ‘loops’ and never making it around, that when I finally saw them in their entirety through parenting, I started to see reflections of how God loves me.
In that dark time, I can now look back and see the infinite number of miniature miracles that occurred in my life; moments that showed me that this ‘higher power’ of God, somehow felt Love towards me – and was littering my life with little reminders of that Truth…to the point where I couldn’t deny it.
I always pray to God that Atlas will show others God’s love through his heart. Little did I know that the very first person that saw God through Atlas was me.
That changed everything.
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