I love to spin in circles. I have ever since I was a kid. We’d have competitions to see who could spin around for a certain amount of time and then walk straight on a line. I could always do it.
I even love those rides at carnivals and amusement parks that spin. My uncle used to take my brothers on the big roller coasters while my aunt took me on the spinny rides. The Virginia Real and the Spinning Dragons were my favorite. We’d spin as fast as we could and get off and be fine.
I’ve learned over the years that this isn’t a normal thing. Most people can’t spin at fast rates without getting dizzy much less walk in a straight line afterwards. Most people don’t even enjoy the sensation of spinning. I’m not like most people in that way.
Life sometimes feels like a spinning ride. It’s chaotic and wild and moving to fast to see what’s really going on around you. You’re on the ride spinng like crazy and you just want to hit the off switch but you can’t. Like most people, I don’t revel in these moments. Like most people, I crack. But I have come to realize I don’t have to spin just because my ride of life is.
When life is spinning out of control it’s easy to see things unclearly or not no what to look at or what to do. But all you have to do is look at a fixed object. That’s how you maintain stability in the midst of choas.
When spinning on a ride you find one face or thing and look at it. At those amusement parks, I’d always look at my grandma who was waving as we flung past her. You spin fast enough that you see them in 3 second increments but our brains fill in the gaps. We are staring at a fixed object without actually staring at it. Our world spins around us but all our brains sees is grandma waving.
Like I did as a child, look at God. When life is spinning out of control he is the only constant stable fixed thing we have. If we look at him, the world won’t appear to be spinning to our brains. And that way, when we do stop spinning we know where to look.
Just like those spinning games as a kid. The only way to walk in a straight line is to look at a fixed object. If you are focused on something right in front of you will naturally head toward that object.
Eventually, life will stop spinning. When it does, you look toward Jesus and are able to determine a path to go. The one that is straight toward him.
Life can be like a spinning ride and the only way to hack life is to fix your eyes on Jesus.If you’re life feels like it’s spinning out if control. Turn to Jesus and all the motion will fade into the background.
