When our children were young, we tried to make an annual trip to an amusement park. Family finances were tight back then, and the trip was a real sacrifice for us parents. Still, we wanted to make it happen as often as we could.

One summer there had been much hype about a new attraction at the park where we were going. The virtual reality space was becoming so popular that it boasted an hour-long wait time for would be visitors. Our amusement park days were invariably either very hot or very wet. That particular day was very hot.

When we finally had inched our way out of the heat and into the entrance to the attraction, we found places to stand where we all could easily see the huge overhead screen. After capacity had been reached and the entrance door closed, we were immediately bombarded with scenes that virtually took us free-falling down mountain cliffs or barreling around curves in an out-of-control train. It was ten minutes filled with non-stop stomach-churning action.

Before the first “experience” was barely started, our oldest child pulled my arm to get me down to his level and shouted in my ear, “I don’t want to ride this ride!” No one else could hear him — the filmed chaos playing out on the screen in front of us was so loud! We had been told that the exit doors were for emergencies only, so my husband and I felt trapped and we helped our son keep his back to the scenes flashing in front of us.

Since then, whenever someone in our family is facing something unpleasant, they repeat the line from the amusement park: I DON’T WANT TO RIDE THIS RIDE! Today as I write this, our family is up against a very difficult situation. When I woke this morning and considered what the day might bring, my first thought was, “I don’t want to ride this ride!”

Then I took the time to pray and begged God for the grace and patience to work through whatever might be ahead of me. One hour at a time, one minute at a time. One prayer at a time.