When Life’s Like A Bumper Car Race Seek Kingdom Of God

I used to love fall — the change in weather, the color of the trees.

Halloween meant candy and Thanksgiving meant pie. But what I looked forward to the most was the fair.

I love everything about county and state fairs — the animlas, the colorful maze of canned good, the musical shows and the midway.

Most of all, I love the rides. My favorite ride is the bumper cars. I’d wait in line for hours just for a five-minute ride on the bumper cars.

Recently during a particularly stressful time I realized something: Life is just like riding the bumper cars.

You get all excited about something in life and can’t wait until it’s time. Just like waiting in line for the bumper cars.

And then, when the carnival worker opens the gate you run to the coolest looking car you can find. You hop in and strap yourself in with buckles that sometimes worked and sometimes didn’t.

You grabbed the steering wheel with both hands and rocked back and forth, waiting for the electricity to come on, all the while spying out the competition and who might be an easy target.

And one of three things would happen — sometimes all at once.

You found out that the steering wheel really didn’t turn. You’d spin it to the right and the car would go straight. You’d spin it to the left and it would over-correct and go right. All you could end up doing was just holding on with the gas pedal down and act like you were driving.

That sound like anyone’s life?

The second thing that could happen would be for it to turn into an actual race. Instead of going full out trying to ram each other, by some unspoken understanding you’d start to race around the outside of the track. Which was always fun for a bit, until you realized that you really couldn’t steer the thing and there would always be someone cutting across the middle just trying to blindside you. In those cases, the argument would always be who was the real winner because there was no finish line and everyone just assumed they finished first.

Yep. I can definitely see that scenario in life.

The last thing that could happen was getting a dud. A car that didn’t work. The electricity would be pooled up above your head and sparks would be flying but the car wouldn’t go. And there was nothing you could do except sit there and take it. Boom! A car would hit your side. Then everyone would see that you’re stalled and boom! came another. Soon you were in the middle of a floating blob of cars amid a sea of electricity. Oh you’d try to get the carnival workers’ attention, but usually that just made them point you out to the crowd waiting in line. You’d beg for the ride to be over, or plead to the other drivers’ good hearts.

Yeah. Didn’t work. The more you plead your case, the more determined people were to drive as fast as they could with their only brakes being your stalled out car.

This is usually where I find myself in life.

In Matthew 6:25-34, Jesus gives us a beautiful example of how to live our lives. When life becomes like a bumper car ride, the first thing we should do is seek the Kingdom of God. If we do that, then oh, just watch the sparks fly!

“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” —Isaiah 41:10