The Way to Up is Down - Pastor Welty

When my daughter Emma was a little girl, we went to Lake Compounce for a day.  I decided that I would to introduce her to the world of the roller coaster.  We made our way to the old rickety wooden roller coaster.   She  just made the height requirement, so I was excited to get strapped into the seats and begin our journey.  As we were climbing the first hill, I realized that I had not adequately prepared my little girl for what she was about to experience. We crested the first hill and then it felt like the bottom dropped out... and the fun began.  I could tell that she wasn't sharing my enthusiasm.  When the ride was completed and we were walking away, she announced to me.  "Thanks Dad, that's the first - AND LAST roller coaster I'll ever ride."   Those words didn't prove true as she became a little bit of a roller coaster nut during her high school years.  It became true for me, however, because age has lessened my appreciation for being tossed around higgledy piggledy.   

Roller coasters serve as a metaphor for life.  We even sometimes use words like "emotional roller coaster" to describe certain experiences.  Life has its ups and downs, and we want to experience  the ups more often and longer than the downs.   But I've found that the downs cause greater appreciation for the ups. 

 Many characters in the Bible experienced the ups and downs of life.  During the upcoming season of Lent we'll be considering some of these people in a series I've called "The way to up is down."  We'll be starting with a look at the life of Joseph from Genesis and concluding by looking at Christ's life on Palm Sunday.  I hope this series will be meaningful to us as we consider our own lives that are sometimes like a roller coaster.