Disneyland May Have The Answer to a Chaotic Life

Photo: Renae Bowman

Photo: Renae Bowman

 

So, does your life feel like it spins out-of-control at times?

I’m telling you, there are days my feet barely touch the floor in the morning and the spinning starts!

You, too?

Sometimes?

Or, maybe you’re thinking, “Sometimes? heck, my life is on perpetual spin-cycle!”

Endlessly.

Viciously.

Spinning and spinning. Round and round. Seemingly like it never ends.

Well—you’re right, it never ends! 😔

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, and pointing out the obvious, but the spinning doesn’t end. It never will.

Spinning is what we get to perpetually look forward to—oh yay! It’s a part of our lives. We simply can’t will it away, as much as we want to. The truth is, it’s not about getting rid of it; it’s about how we live with it.

So what do we do with that real upbeat news?

Go to Disneyland of course.

Well, you don’t really have to go, but think Disneyland—or more specifically, that wild ride of moving teacups. Those dastardly, crazy, love em or hate em teacups.

I was there recently and I caught myself standing and watching the cups, the people, and the whole process.   And of course I thought of God and all of you (I truly did!). I couldn’t wait to come home and write.

I have a story.

While standing there, a middle-aged couple walked past me and I heard the man say to the woman, “here are your beloved cups, I know you’ve been waiting.” And I thought to myself, that woman is crazy with a capital C!—in a Christian sort of way, of course. But I was wondering, how could anyone love to go on that ride? You spin so fast you either get Vertigo or you risk losing the churro you just ate. Really? That doesn’t sound fun to me.

So as I stood and watched, I thought about our crazy lives. I thought of how our real spinning resembles their spinning and how there might just be some answers in it all. I’d like to share.

The ride begins with waiting.

Riders get on, sit down and patiently wait until it starts. We have that same opportunity daily. Even when the crazy stuff begins as our feet hit the floor, almost certainly we can put in at least 5 minutes of waiting. 5 minutes of sitting in His presence before the ride begins. Not web-surfing, not doing, not planning—just sitting and praying, meditating, skimming the Word—whatever the process, if we purposely sit in wait with the Calmer of life, it makes all the difference. Trust me. I can absolutely, positively assure you that this has a huge impact on the rest of your day. If you can do just one thing to ease the spinning—start here! Spinning may be constant, but God is endless.

“ Your word, Lord, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens.” Psalm 119:89

The spinning speed depends on you.

In the middle of those crazy teacups is a spinning wheel doohickey. If you are crazy enough to grab hold and start turning, your spinning goes faster. If not, you spin at the “calm speed” of the ride—like there is such a thing, right?

That is us! We can choose whether to spin faster or not. Before you say, “no we can’t”, I think we should be honest with ourselves and say, “yes we can.” The calendars don’t have to bulge with endless stuff. The commitments can be scaled back. The word no can be used without guilt, and priorities can shift to slow you down. I know, I know—I don’t know your life but if your spinning is to the point you’re dizzy everyday, maybe it’s time for a slight shift. Perhaps ask your bestie or someone close in your life for a true, unfiltered opinion on what appears to be taking hold. Sometimes those on the outside can see some pretty clear stuff. I had this very thing happen to me—and she was right! It took someone else telling me to let go of a few things. And the teacup seemed to slow down.

“When I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, …everything was meaningless.” Ecclesiastes 2:11

What is our approach to the spinning?

What if we’re like that woman that walked past me? What if we didn’t see our lives as a crazy bad ride but more of an adventure? What if we embraced the spinning by leaning into it instead of railing against it? Not to be sadistic by loving the turmoil, but to become more accepting instead of complaining. We take on a lot in life! We run households and families. The “have to do’s” pile up like laundry, but the next thing we know we’re stacking up the grumbles, too. We truly can choose to put aside that grumbling and start stacking up the gratitude’s instead. Sure it takes practice, but our sanity is worth it don’t you think?

“And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” Colossians 3:17

I know many of us wonder how we’re just going to get back up again tomorrow morning. I get it. I’m right there with you. Just wondering if we might take a fresh look at a few things. Our lives will always have craziness to them, no doubt, but it will always come down to how we deal with it that matters. God knows your craziness. He knows the levels at which you spin. Let’s reach out to Him a bit more in the endless whirling about and maybe just maybe we’ll enjoy the ride more (and have time to eat more churros!).

 

 

4 Replies

  1. Karen

    Het Renae, I was just talking about all this to my husband this weekend. I always start the weekend with how were going to relax then some how I turn relax into “cray cray” thinking of stuff to do , or as you call it spinning. I tried really hard not to do that this weekend and let’s just say it was progress not perfection haha. Thanks for this reading this morning, really hit home!

    1. Thank you Karen! Yes, life gets so cray-cray, but as you mentioned its about progress not perfection. We have to keep running the race, but maybe we can do it a bit less stressful. Thank you for stopping by and chatting.

  2. Lori perez

    Hey Renae you know the saying God works in mysterious ways well He truly does. Last night I was just talking to Him and asking Him to please help me in my days ahead to get through them alot better than I have been lately and here I read your Monday wonderful words and God is speaking thru you again. Thank you once again for your inspiring words.

    1. You are welcome Lori! I’m glad you’re taking your burdens to Him and that He spoke right back in a simple post. I’m glad His timing was perfect and you may have some help to get through these crazy days of our lives. Hang in there. Blessings.

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