This week marks my fourth yearly visit to my oncology team. Even though I knew that the possibility of a reoccurrence diminishes each year, there was that little fear in the back of my mind. What if I got a bad report? What if the cancer came back? How would I handle it? Well, fortunately, I had an excellent report—no cancer and all of my tests were great! After the appointment, I felt exhausted not only physically, but mentally and emotionally, too. My reaction reminded me of this blog post I’m sharing today. Life is like the ultimate thrill ride—we hop aboard hoping for the best and then, no matter what, we have to ride.

                                              Roller Coaster Ride

I feel like my emotions have been on an out-of-control roller coaster ride this week.

My week started with a celebration—my brother Brian was ordained as a Methodist Elder. This is a major milestone in his life—it seals his commitment to the ministry he has chosen. The ceremony itself was a joyous celebration of the presence of God in our lives. And the next day, Saturday, it was a celebration of family highlighted by affection, sharing, music and, of course wonderful food. The congregation my brother ministers provide another tribute on the Sunday after his ordination—which added a loving and public dimension to this event.

Then we received the news that my aunt had died. It came in the form of a text message from another brother who was unable to attend the ordination.

And then my roller coaster ride began.

How can joy be intertwined with grief? How do we celebrate one event and mourn the other—all in the same moment in time?

We go from joy to sorrow back to joy—often within moments.  And yet, we make sense all of this and continue despite the way our lives sometimes seem like a riotous amusement park ride.

We sort out the feelings and sometimes even compartmentalize them to allow us to continue to function.

Sorrow can color our lives sometimes for years, but yet we soldier on, facing each day with great courage.

Finally we realize that joy is transient and that we must delight in those moments and hold them dear to our hearts—living them over again and again. Ultimately we come to know that to understand joy, we must embrace life’s sorrow.

And bravely, we get back in line for the roller coaster of life, throw caution to the wind, throw our arms up in the air… and ride.