The Carousel of Life

This weekend, my mom and dad took me to a big shopping mall in Denver. Colorado Mills is the BIGGEST mall I’ve ever seen, and even has a beautiful carousel in the middle of the food court.

My parents went to stand in line for lunch, and I stayed with our coats, purses, etc. I watched the carousel go round and round. For some reason, I have always been attracted to carousels, and I even still ride them when I get the opportunity. I may be fifteen, but I’m definitely still a kid.

As I watched the looks of pure glee on the children’s faces, I thought about my own experiences. I’ve always loved getting to choose which horse to ride on (I always pick a white or black one…don’t ask me why), and seeing the world spin by me. I love the look of joy on the children’s faces as they mount their horses.

And then, I looked at the faces of the parents.

Most of them looked like they couldn’t wait to get off. Now, I know that the “carousel song” can get extremely annoying after a while, but these parents didn’t even try to enjoy the ride. They just stood by their children, and looked cranky.

It seems to me that the culture these days wants us to rush everything. We are encouraged to experience everything we can, and hurry through life. The ads on the television are all about things you have to have NOW; you need this NOW, if you don’t have it, come get it NOW.

While we cannot prevent “now” from happening, we can choose to slow down and see God’s wonderful creations. So often, we take life in chunks at a time and miss the little joys God gives to us. I so often miss beautiful things that could really bless my life if I took the time to see them.

Having a daily devotional is something I try and do every day. I have made it a requirement that I must have my Bible reading done before I start anything else (schoolwork, chores, relaxation time, etc.). This helps me to slow down and focus on what God has for me to learn that day. It truly does help me stop and “take time to smell the roses”.

As I watched the carousel go around, my heart yearned to tell the parents to stop and enjoy the moment of fun. I wished I could tell them that eventually, they are going to jump off that carousel of life, and never be able to get back on. I wanted them to know that they should enjoy the time with their children, because they will not be young forever.

So often, we get caught up in the carousel of life, and we feel like it will never let us off. If we have a good attitude, and make something good come from everything, life will not be so unbearable. It is only when we make the carousel turn too fast that it becomes too much for us to handle.