We used to get season passes to Great Adventure, a theme park in New Jersey, and make it our summer getaway. Between the roller coasters and the water rides, there was an endless array of excitement. On the really hot days, the Congo Rapids, a water raft ride, had the longest lines. But we didn’t care—it was worth the wait. The ride would cool us down enough to endure standing in the hot sun for the rest of the day. We had a system and it worked well. You too may have done something like this:
You get blisteringly hot standing in line for the roller coasters until you can’t take it anymore. You find the wettest water ride in the park. It has a sign at the entrance that reads, “90 minute wait from this point.” You let out a huff of steam and contemplate whether or not to enter. It’s so hot…You decide it’s worth the wait and get in line.
The lines snake endlessly through a maze of barriers. Watching the people is half the fun. You see families with excited kids, couples, teenagers, all anticipating the ride. Some are tired and hot, others don’t care about the heat—they know the ride will cool them off.
You come to another sign—“You WILL get wet on this ride.” It’s meant to warn people who may not want to get wet, or who may be hoping to get drenched. Either way, you are warned, and you still press on—the ride is worth the risk.
You get to where the rafts are loading and your stomach begins to flutter, watching everyone strap in. You see children, teens, adults, even seniors—some are smiling, others are nervous—but everyone gets on board. You wait your turn, wondering if the ride is really worth it. Will the raft tip over? Will the ride malfunction? Will you get splashed or will you get soaking wet? You start to look for an escape route.
A returning raft comes back to the launching area with very happy, very wet passengers. No one has gotten hurt, lost, or maimed. In fact, everyone seems elated from the fun. They scramble out of the raft and run to the exit—possibly to get back in line again. It’s time for you to strap in.
And you’re off. The ride has it all—smooth tributaries, bumps and curves, white water rapids, and the dreaded waterfalls that get half of your party completely soaked! After ninety thrilling seconds, the ride comes to an end. Everyone claps their soaking wet hands, wipes the water from their eyes, and lets their squishy-sneaker-feet lead them to the exit ramp. You spend days talking about how fun it was.
A ninety minute wait—a ninety second ride—a lifetime of memories. It was all worth it. Consider the water ride analogy your introduction to God’s Eternal Plan.
Earth life is a drop of water in an endless sea of eternity—an eternity that existed before we were born and will continue to exist after our Earth life is through. Another way to view it is like a timeline. If you were to stretch a string across forever, then mark a single dot on that string, the dot would represent your Earth life. What precedes the dot represents your spiritual life before you were born—endless. What comes after the dot is your spiritual life after you leave Earth—also endless. And the amazing thing is, all this time has been a constant progression of growth before, during, and after life on Earth. It can seem mind boggling—or it can be viewed like a great adventure—or a trip to Great Adventure.
Think about waiting in line for the Congo Rapids ride. It seemed endless, maybe boring at times, because you wanted to get on the ride. Compare that to the time before you were born. You lived with your Heavenly parents and learned as much as you could from them, but it wasn’t the same as being on Earth, gaining a body, experiencing life on your own—it wasn’t like riding the ride.
You knew there would be challenges and danger during Earth life, but you wanted to follow God’s plan—it was worth the risk. Likewise, the signs along the way didn’t discourage you. You didn’t back out when you read signs similar to, “You will get wet on this ride.” You got excited instead. Think about it—before you were born, you knew you would have difficult trials—heartache, pain, and sorrow. You would face injustice, tyranny, and cruelty. But you knew the experience would help you to become kinder, more forgiving, more wise—indeed a better human beings because of the suffering. And according to our Heavenly Father, you would be provided a Savior, Jesus Christ to save you from sin and death through the grace of His atoning sacrifice. Everything about the preparation said testified that this ride would be worth it.
The trick is not to think the ride—Earth life—is the eternal part. The ride is a mere few seconds, and so, too, Earth life is but a wink of an eye compared to your eternal existence with God. The only reason you decided to go on the water ride was because you knew it would not kill you, you would eventually dry off, and you knew when it was over you could look back and say, “Wow, that was an amazing ride!” If you didn’t know all that, you would be terrified to go, fearful for your life, and soaked and miserable for the rest of your life. And so, the only reason you entered the ride called Earth life is because you knew it would not kill you ( permanently separate you from God), you would eventually dry off (be made clean again), and when it was over you could look back and say, “Wow, that was an amazing ride!”
God the Eternal Father presented a plan to send us to this Earth, to live and grow, to make choices and learn from them. He sent his Son, Jesus Christ, to live and die for us, saving us by his grace through the atonement. Often, the ride of life does seem altogether too scary to handle because it’s longer than a ninety minute water ride. The pain we experience can last a lifetime; the sorrows we feel can be paralyzing. I am not unacquainted with pain and suffering. There have been many times I have felt like I’ve wanted to get off this ride, but I didn’t. I kept an eternal perspective, trying hard to remember I mattered enough to my Savior to be saved.
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If we can hold on and endure, if we can have faith that we will get off this ride clean, dry, and undamaged—because of the sacrifice of our Savior—then we not only endure the ride, we find reasons to be happy despite the twists and turns that come our way. And five hundred years from now we’ll look back at this Earth life with joyful hearts, still talking about what an amazing ride it was.
Nanette O'Neal loves the gospel and is very happy to share her testimony on LDS Blogs. She is a convert to the church and still feels the spirit burn strong within her heart. She graduated from Mason Gross School of the Arts with a degree in music education and has taught children and adults in the private and public sphere for over twenty years. Nanette continues to study the gospel and the art of writing. She writes weekly inspirational articles on her blog and is currently working on an LDS fantasy novel series, A Doorway Back to Forever. You can find her at NanetteONeal.blogspot.com. Nanette has a wonderful husband, talented son, and three beautiful dogs.
