Taking a Ride on the TWISTY Slide :)

Not many people are willing to jump off a cliff. Too scary!!! Even if we are running full force to escape from danger, even if there is no other direction to go, the moment we are faced with the drop off something in us says WHOOOOOOOO!!!!! STOP!!!!!!! Not such a good idea!!!!!

However, twisty slides are great! In fact, they are so great that if I take my kids to a park without a twisty slide, they are greatly disappointed! There's not much that’s scary about a twisty slide once you’re past the age of 2 or so.

The irony of this is that they are both drops that decend to ground zero. But yet we say with great joy “Twisty slide-weeeeeeeeee-this is fun!!!!” But if we were to face a drop off cliff at a park we would have our cell phones out so fast calling the city parks department and heads would roll. “That is dangerous” we would say, and we would be absolutely right, cliff jumping is scary and dangerous!

Even in life, the twisty slide is the way to go. If someone were to walk in your office and say “Hey, what’s up, you wanna commit adultery?” - of course we say NO! We are not ignorant enough to go jumping off that cliff. We know where that ends up.

However, if someone of the opposite sex were to waltz into your office and ask you out for coffee after work one night, well, hmmmm. We might have a weird feeling in our stomach, but we could quickly ignore it, and, well maybe we might take a seat on the twisty slide. The only trouble is, that once we get on the twisty slide the only way to go is DOWN DOWN DOWN - A dizzy confusing spiral down.

Or maybe it’s our feelings that like to go for a ride on the twisty slide!! WEEEEEEE! So here we go on an adventure:

My husband didn't take out the trash – and I take a seat on the slide. He must not care about me I say to myself as I whoosh down the first curve. What if he doesn't love me as I swish through the second curve. What if he is having an affair-as I notice this slide is getting a little CRAZY!!!! I remind myself that my dad had an affair, and I tell myself “I knew he was just like my dad” – as I go slip slip slideing towards the bottom. “I am not good enough, my mom wasn't good enough to keep my dad around, and I'm not good enough to keep my man around”- THUD, and here we find ourselves sitting in the dirt pile or the mud pit at the bottom of the twisty slide. Our feelings are a train wreck, all after our husband innocently FORGOT to take the trash out.

How quickly things can spiral out of control. We have got to learn to reel that sucker back in before it begins its decent! But how on earth do we do that?

We have to learn and often FORCE ourselves to take our thoughts captive and make them obedient to Christ. 2 Corinthians 10:5 says, “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”

This ride on the twisty slide is nothing more than good old plain run of the mill cognitive distortions. Distorted, messed up, Satan fed thinking. He is the king of cognitive distortions because the more he can get our heads whirling and twirling over the small stuff, and even the big stuff, the more he can distort our focus from where it needs to be.

And, if we have genuinely been hurt, we need to be going to God with that hurt in prayer. Praying that he guards our hearts, heals our broken spirits, and guides our thoughts. Even if someone hurts you, and unfortunately that happens all too often in this world, don’t let Satan throw you down the twisty slide, or the cliff, STAND STRONG in the promises of God. Even if you don’t have to have the strength to stand, he has all the strength you need. And never underestimate the praying power of some Godly Christian women, ask for prayer when you need it, and call a friend when you need a hug or a Starbucks! That’s what friends are for  Hugs, Love, and Starbucks, LOL!