Bringing the New Year in Full Force

My body got WRECKED under the notion to usher in the new year all out. It wasn’t pretty. With a full surrender to Jesus and a full surrender to life to its fullest, I decided this was going to be a YES year. Saying yes to new adventures, saying yes to the uncomfortable, saying yes to things I would ordinarily say no to, and in that spirit on the last day of December I made a very unwise choice.

Celebrating, we (my husband, Mike and I) went on vacation with Tim (our son) and Bethany (our daughter-in-law) and our three adorable grandkids to Branson, Missouri. On New Year’s Eve we all went to Silver Dollar City, an amusement park all decked out and decorated for Christmas. There were lights, there were fun smells, there were cute little stores and trains all incapsulating a 1880s-era Ozark Mountain mining town theme. So cute and so fun.

The first ride Tim and Bethany wanted to ride was the roller coaster. How fun! Mike declined and said he’d watch the kids. Feeling like a “cool kid” I got in line with Tim and Bethany. I was thinking it would be like the Gold Rush at Disneyland which I have many happy memories from.

I was in the last car on the track with the happy couple in front of me. We were climbing up to the top and the excitement I felt was electric—so fun to be on an “old” roller coaster again, so fun to have said yes, so fun to be a cool kid.

There was a pause at the top and then…the car went straight down. I’m talking a 90-degree angle! My whole body panicked. My glasses flew off my face—which was the least of my problems because I felt like I was going to die. After the drop there were three upside down turns and I don’t know what else because my eyes were closed and I was just hanging on wishing it would stop. Finally, it stopped and I was happy to be breathing. Sitting there completely disoriented I couldn’t unlatch myself. I’m a grown woman and a cool kid and I needed the ride operators help to unlatch and get off the ride! Once out I could barely walk and Tim and Bethany were cracking up (I laughed with them—I lost my whereabouts but not my sense of humor!). I was a sight to see. I was WRECKED! 

The rest of the day I felt terribly sick—dizzy, off-kilter, my extremities felt fuzzy, nausea, and overall awful. Plus, my glasses were gone, GONE, and my husband had to lead me around the rest of the day.

Yes, I had said yes, but was that really a wise yes? And yes, I wanted to start the new year with a gusto and fervor for life and adventure, but was that really the way to begin? And yes, I wanted to take this next year by force and go all out, but was destroying my body really necessary?

Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.

In Matthew chapter 4 Jesus is being tempted by the devil… The devil challenged Jesus to jump from the highest point of the temple, “If you are the Son of God throw yourself down.”  Jesus replied with, “Do not put the Lord your God to the test.” And he didn’t jump! He could have, but he didn’t.

Just because we can, doesn’t mean we should.

And so, my friend, I have modified my theme for this coming year… It will be a year of yes…with wise consideration.

This year can still be a year of adventure and new opportunities, and most important a year of surrender to the God who teaches “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10).

When we are surrendered to Christ we can have life to the full and abundantly. We can be surrendered to God and embrace life fully and be wise at the same time.

Even if you’re a cool kid.

Thanks for visiting LuSays. Want to win in your relationships? Check out books by Lucille Williams: On marriage, From Me to We, and The Intimacy You Crave. Have kids? Order a copy of The Impossible Kid: Parenting a Strong-Willed Child with Love and Grace or Turtle Finds His Talent for ages 2-6. Subscribe to LuSays today for regular encouragement.