I just got back from Universal studios in Orlando. I spent my birthday there with 1800 strangers and one close friend.
Here’s a shot of my birthday party

And if you’re concerned, here’s a shot of my after birthday party:

(Yes that’s a soufflé and yes, it was amazing.)

But in between the speaking and the soufflé, my friend and I had some time at Universal so we decided to go on some rides. I’m proud to say I’m 5$%# years old and I still do rides. (Maybe I just went on some to prove that).
But who in the world would have thought the Simpsons would be the most awesome ride at Universal studios? At least it was of the three we went on. And it did have some tough competition with the Transformers.
Simpsons won hands down.
And here’s the crazy thing about this ride:

1. You stay in one room and go no where
2. Your car goes up and down but never actually moves.
3. The scariest character is a baby

I can’t really explain it. You just have to experience it.
The whole ride basically happens inside your mind.
It made me realize just what our minds are capable of creating. Yes there was simulation (that’s without the T). Yes there were screens and sounds and jolts. But our minds tricked us into thinking we were experiencing a real ride, rather than a virtual one.
Our minds made something out of nothing.
And we can do that with other things too.
Take fear, for instance.
Fears are real, but they often start a lot smaller than they end up.
We grow them with our minds.
We get help from our circumstances and more help from past experiences and sometimes, like the spies in Numbers 11*, we let our fears take on a life of their own. But how much of fear is really just like a Simpson ride?
Everything inside of us is telling us the fear is bigger than it is.
And then we face that fear with faith.
And we discover it’s not as big as we thought after all
.
On the Simpson ride, getting on and getting off are the two times when reality is clearly seen.
The rest of the experience hinges on the way you see.

Sounds like life.

*Numbers 11 is the story of the 12 spies who went into Canaan and let their fear hijack their mission.For more on fear and faith, check out Finding Faith in the Dark (http://www.amazon.com/Laurie-Short/e/B00IKAGCDG