Choir Notes

The Roller Coaster of Life

From Music and the Spoken Word

Delivered By: Lloyd D. Newell

Life, with its ups and downs and twists and turns, has sometimes been compared to a roller coaster. It can be exciting and fun one moment, just as it can be frightening and exhausting the next. Even as we stand in line and wait for our turn on the ride, we are never fully prepared for what lies ahead.

Life is like that. We understand that family life and relationships will occasionally include some heartache, and yet we willingly sign up. We know that school and work will be challenging and even a little overwhelming, but we forge on. And even knowing there are ups and downs ahead, most of us would not choose to go back. That tells us much about our innate ability to take on challenges, to overcome obstacles, and to move forward with faith. For we each soon learn that happiness and heartache, joy and sorrow, are all a part of this journey we call life.

Take, for example, high school sweethearts Darrell and Dorothy Brown. They planned to get married as soon as Darrell graduated from college in 1942. But World War II was raging, and life seemed so unstable. After careful consideration, they decided to go ahead with their plans to marry. They enjoyed a beautiful wedding day and shared 10 happy months together before Darrell was called into active duty, just days after Dorothy gave birth to their baby daughter. Within one year’s time, they had already experienced quite a few of life’s ups and downs—but it was only the beginning. Many, many more would follow in the nearly 70 years they shared together.

Certainly, challenges and difficulties lie ahead on life’s roller coaster—for each of us. But we eagerly get on, hold on, and carry on, because we know that each dip in the ride is just preparation for the exhilarating part up ahead.