Let me introduce you to my friend, Loree Johns.
Loree, a Write Brilliant buddy and one of my iron sharpeners, is an interior designer who offers inspiration for your heart and your home, earning her the title Decorating Devotional Gal. Loree and I met in person in Park City, Utah, last summer at the Write Brilliant live event for online academy participants.
I opted out of the bobsled ride, but not Loree. And I couldn’t think of a better time to share her story than the week the 2018 Winter Olympics kick off.
by Loree Johns
How bad could the bobsled ride be?
If the Utah Olympic Park let the public sign up it must be safe, though the list of health warnings on the ticketing site hung half a page long. When anxiety threatened to tangle with my peace, I stuffed anxiety into my back pocket.
At our Park City, Utah, writer’s conference, the Write Brilliant mantra was, “The answer is always YES!”
The Write Brilliant team encouraged us to step away from our norm during the afternoon breaks and seek adventure.
The adventure that kept jumping out at me was the Olympic bobsled.
Park City is an Olympic training center for downhill skiing and that crazy bobsled. The stunning amenities were built for hosting the 2002 Winter Olympic games.
My new writing friend Jen and I were the only adventurers from our group that day. Grabbing our wrist bands, we spent the morning having the time of our lives on the ropes course, the A-Mazing fifty-five mile an hour zip line, and the crazy-fun-heart-in-your-throat inner tubing down the steep drop of the ski jumps.
Then came the time for our last event.
Time for the greatest thrill? Terror? Of all.
Strapping on our helmets we piled in after the professional bobsled driver. Squashed in the middle, I gripped the hand straps like no other and braced for the wicked descent.
The thrill was real. A sixty-second rush like no other. Hurling seventy miles an hour down a mountain around vicious curves in a tin can sled.
And after the first twenty seconds, all I could think about was, Is it almost over?
Seventy miles an hour may not seem so bad. But picture yourself in a tiny narrow sled flying down the interstate with one hairpin turn after another with only a frail helmet to protect your skull. My head squeezed from the pressure like it was being compressed in a vise. And it felt like my neck was having a hard time keeping my head from flying off into the great blue yonder.
Now I know why they caution against those prone to neck problems and migraines. Oh, and they forgot to mention preparation for bruising. Jerking from side to side as we rounded each corner with violent speed, my upper arms were thrown again and again into the “padded” sides of the sled.
Now, with two feet planted on the terra firma, I’m glad I said Yes.
Just so I can say I did it.
But don’t ask me to do it again.
Ever.
Probably.
Unless it’s like childbirth, you forget how painful it was and before you know it you’re doing it all over again.
I think of our life-walk and those times when our hearts are squeezed in a vise and arrows of men pierce deep the soft tissue. Attacked and overloaded with fear and pain, our poor hearts feel as if they will burst.
At times with too many to-do’s piled on us, we are so crazy stressed that we feel as if our head is spinning and could pop off at any minute.
At times with many to-do's piled on us, we feel as if our head is spinning and could pop off at any minute. Click To TweetIf we will take sixty-seconds, close our eyes and breathe God deep instead of hurling pell-mell around one curve after the next, vulnerable and unprotected, He will cover us with a blanket of peace, warm and soft and comforting so we can face another day and another curve.
If we will take sixty-seconds to breathe God deep, instead of hurling pell-mell around another corner, He will cover us with all we need. Click To TweetOne day at a time.
“When I am afraid, I put my trust in you,
In God, whose word I praise—
In God I trust and am not afraid.
What can mere mortals do to me?”
Psalm 5:3-4
You can follow Loree on Facebook and on her blog.
Note from Mona: I’m now posting on my blog the 1st and 3rd Mondays of every month.
You might also enjoy reading . . .
Practicing the Art of Paying Attention
Victim of Grace: An Amazing Truth Every Woman Should Know