I asked the women in my small group to describe the past week with one word. As women responded, I realized I hadn’t thought of a word for myself. The only one that came to mind was “roller-coasterish.” It seems I often break my own rules in small group…I asked for one word and threw out a non-word. But it was accurate. The week was roller-coasterish.

I’m confident you’ve had similar days, weeks, and seasons of your life. The reality is…our lives are roller-coasterish.

In the middle of the roller-coasterish week, one of my best friends called and left me a message:

“I know you’re having a week of ups and downs, and I was just thinking…isn’t it just like God to give you a week like this? You’re writing Pure Emotion, and God is blessing you with experiences that are only going to help you pour into writing so Pure Emotion speaks to the women who study it. God is good.”

It didn’t feel like a blessing at the time, but I knew once I heard her words that God was directly using my dear friend to help me see something I wasn’t able to see by myself.

I can often perceive the highs of the roller coaster to be positive and the lows to be negative, but that’s not the case. Yes, it might be my experience, but my experiences don’t accurately reflect reality at times. I don’t completely understand God’s economy.

So those who are last now will someday be first, and those who are first now will someday be last. Matthew 20:16

Those who try to hold on to their lives will give up true life. Those who give up their lives for me will hold on to true life. Matthew 10:39

Not everything makes logical sense. That’s where faith comes in. Faith doesn’t mean God doesn’t want you to think about things. He made you in his image. You’re a thinking person, capable of logic and reasoning. He gave you the capacity to think…but just like so many other aspects of ourselves made in his image – including emotions – what he blessed us with can get in the way. We can build a wall between us and God with the exact characteristics and gifts he intends for us to build a bridge with. Our faith is the bridge, and when we trust God’s promises, the bridge is firm and strong. Trustworthy. God desires for you to trust his trustworthiness. Even on the roller coaster.

Will you trust God’s safety harness on the roller coaster?