It was Summer holidays 1995.

I’d just had that first great growth spurt that leaves a boy gangly and all out of proportion, wearing what two weeks ago was a perfectly good outfit but had now morphed into short-shorts and what I can only describe as a mid-drift. In this state I found myself standing at the very front of the cue for ‘The Bush Beast’, the biggest roller coaster at Australia’s Wonderland.

I was standing there because my big sister had told me I was now tall enough to ride on the big roller coasters, and when your older sister calls you out and challenges your bravery, you have to answer—it’s time for young boys to step it up. So there I was, a mix of excited and terrified. Only it got worse, my sister convinced me that the least scary seat was right at the front. So we found our way there and my heart started thumping. The safety guard came down and any hope of escape was cut off. I began to sweat. Suddenly, with a shunt and scraping of metal on metal, we were off... slowly around the corner and up the hill. Click, click, click, click… The anticipation of what was coming was enough to make me faint. My doom was approaching at such a slow steady pace I could barely handle it…and being right up the front I had the best possible view. Click, click, click, click…on it came, the anticipation grew and grew…until finally we crested the hill and the rollercoaster flung us into the abyss.

...and I loved it.
...and it was freedom.
…and it was beautiful.

The feelings that followed during the turns and twists of that ride have never left me. The anticipation and nervousness I had felt at the crest of that hill were overtaken by the sheer fun of the ride that followed.

Christmas Eve is a day of anticipation. A day of nervous energy as we wait for the arrival of our saviour. While the anticipation is wonderful the real and unexpected joy is found when we give up control to what comes after the plunge.

Today's reading from Psalms reminds us of one of the most beautiful and simple truths. God is in control. It is God who makes known, God who establishes, God who anoints, strengthens and defends. Each Christmas we are reminded that there is an amazing ride available to anyone who wants to hop on. Throwing your lot in with a baby from Bethlehem can be frightening, but it can also be exhilarating. Going without in order to give to those who have less, speaking not for your self but for others, living a life committed to something bigger than yourself. Sounds crazy. It is. But there is something beautiful that happens when we give up control.