Life is Full of Bumps in the Road

Ah, life. It’s not always easy, but it is always wonderful. Even when we hit a few bumps along the way. After all, these bumps in the road of life help us build character. I had my first series of bumps when I was just five years old.

That summer before my fifth birthday, our family attended a church picnic at the local amusement park. It was a beautiful day, we were at White Swan Park, and everyone was having a marvelous time. All of us kids were in Heaven as we ran around from ride to ride. Finally, we came to the roller coaster, “The Mad Mouse.” It was the pride of the park, and was always able to strike fear and excitement in the heart of every child.

The roller coaster had individual cars rather than a chain of them linked together like a train. It also had a series of bumps at the end of the ride, each one a little bigger than the previous one. We all lined up at the entrance of “The Mad Mouse,” ready for the thrill of a lifetime. However, some of us got a lot more than we bargained for.

Each child was placed in their very own car. Since I was the smallest child, I was put in a car with my oldest sister. I sat in front of her with her legs wrapped tightly around me, with both of us holding onto the safety bar. The “Mad Mouse” slowly started to come to life, taking us around the curves at breath-taking speed. It was great fun until we got to the series of bumps.

When we hit the first bump I flew up in the air between my sister and the safety bar and landed halfway out of the car. My sister grabbed me and tried to pull me back into the car just as we hit the second bump. I flew even higher into the air and landed further out of the car, bent at the waistline, with my fingers dangling just a few inches away from the track.

Even in my panic I could feel my sister frantically grabbing at the only thing she could get a hold of–the waistband of my underpants. I could see the grown ups screaming below me, including my mother, who was seven months pregnant at the time. Bless her heart, she was running beside the tracks with her arms outstretched as if to catch me. I thought to myself, “This can’t be good. I’ve never the woman run, and I’ve never seen her catch anything in my entire life, either” 

Fortunately, my sister’s strength and the elastic waistband of my underpants both held out as the  young man operating the roller coaster brought it to a rolling stop. He was pale and shaking as he plucked me out of the car and handed me over to the grown-ups who rushed in to make sure I was alright. I noticed that my mother wasn’t looking so good. It must have been the pregnancy. Or maybe the heat.

I was embarrassed by all of the attention. I broke away from the crowd and ran off to the next ride. The adults marveled at my resilience.  My Mom still didn’t look so good. As a matter of fact, neither did my sister. But I didn’t let that distract me. After all, it was a beautiful day at White Swan Park, and everyone was having a marvelous time.

Life is a lot like that day at the amusement park. Everything can be going along just fine when life throws a series of unexpected bumps that leave you flying by the seat of your pants. And sometimes you’re just hanging on by a thread. Sometimes you feel like you’re going over the edge, and hope that there is someone to catch you. Even if they don’t have the skills needed to help you, just knowing that they care makes a difference. So, the next time you see someone hitting a series of bumps in their road of life, you might want to give them a hand. It can literally save their life.