Stephanie is a woman in her 40s who now lives in Pennsylvania. As a youngster, because of bad issues at home, she lived with us for a period of time. All that is another story. While she was with us, she discovered that I have this irrational fear of heights. About fifteen years ago she was excitedly telling me about Bridge Day at the New River Gorge Bridge in West Virginia. For those who do not know, the New River Gorge Bridge stretches 3,030 feet from end to end and the roadway is 876 feet above the New River. You may have heard of it recently because part of it collapsed. Good to know. It is being repaired. Bridge Day is a yearly festival that happens on the bridge. Stephanie told me that she was going to go to Bridge Day and bungee jump off the bridge. Actually, they ceased the bungee jumping in 1993, but I didn’t know that. They do allow that whole thing where people put on gliding suits and fly off the bridge. But she told me she was going to bungee just to see my reaction. It must have been pretty good, because she dissolved into laughter. But she also told me that whether it was bungee jumping or jumping out of an airplane with a parachute, she only ever really feels alive as she falls through the air.

See, I do not understand that thinking. As a kid we used to jump from the barn rafters into the hay below. But it never was exhilarating. It was terrifying. Period. I didn’t want to be the sissy, though. My sisters jumped, my best friend’s sister jumped, my best friend’s brother jumped, my best friend jumped. So, I jumped. They were having great fun. Not so much me.

Ferris Wheels. Sheer terror. Roller Coasters. Not me. There is a ride now called the Slingshot. Kind of self explanatory. I am not riding that baby. It is all perfectly safe. I don’t care. Once we were at Niagara Falls on the Canadian side. Down river from the Falls there are the cable cars that go over the Niagara River Gorge. From the Canadian side to the US side and back. The wind down the Gorge is extreme because of the pressure from the Falls, so the cable cars will sway. Our son was maybe 10 years old and he wanted to go across the Gorge, but he would only go if I went. Not wanting to be the coward, I agreed. Halfway over he got up with Marsha and they were walking around, looking over the side. I was still seated trying to crush the steel hand rail with my bare hands. On the other hand, I love to ride the Maid of the Mist, which is a boat that fights the current and goes right to the base of the Falls. That is probably more dangerous than the cable cars, but you are not in the air. Makes all the difference.

It is odd, but I have flown in small planes and jet planes and even a helicopter. Never seemed to bother me. But the thrill rides…..irrational.

Or is it?

The Associated Press ran this article on May 2, 2019.

The GaleForce coaster was undergoing a routine safety check when the dummies plummeted into a hotel next door.

The operators of a New Jersey shore amusement park say a roller coaster there is safe after a pair of water-filled test dummies fell off during a recent test ride.

The GaleForce coaster at Playland's Castaway Cove in Ocean City was undergoing a routine safety check April 20 when the dummies plummeted into a hotel next door, damaging the building's shingles and plywood.

Park officials say the dummies had undetected leaks that made them lose their mass and shape, causing them to fall. They say that wouldn't happen to humans and that nothing on the ride failed during the test, including the lap bar that secures riders.

Officials say the coaster has run problem-free since the mishap and is tested daily for about two hours.

          OK. Two things jump out at me. First the dummies were ejected and slammed into the roof of the nearby hotel hard to damage the roof. I looked this place up on Google Earth, which can give you views from space to treetop level. There is a hotel quite close to the ride, but it is three stories tall. Those dummies were hurtled a long way to land on the roof and they had some speed. The second thing I see is that the park claimed that the dummies had undetected leaks and humans wouldn’t leak. Well, I would, but never mind that. If a sack of water in the shape of a human is leaking, wouldn’t you see that when you strapped it in? And how do they know the dummies were leaking? I would assume that impacting the roof at high speed would cause a sack of water to pop some leaks. Are they saying the leaks were detected after impact? Of course they leaked after impact! Imagine being a guest in that hotel and you hear a huge bang on the roof, you rush to the window and see a human shaped form sliding off the roof past your window, trailing fluid. I bet they checked out without the park experience. However, for those of you who are interested, they test the ride for two hours a day. Maybe you could hire out as a tester. Humans are, in reality, mostly water that is incased in a sack of skin.

          Could it be, just maybe, that my fear is not totally irrational?

          We all have a fear or two. But as Christians, we should have no Spiritual fear. We put our faith in Christ and trust Him to take care of it. The Fanny Crosby song really does cover it.

1.     Safe in the arms of Jesus,
Safe on His gentle breast;
There by His love o’ershaded,
Sweetly my soul shall rest.
Hark! ’tis the voice of angels
Borne in a song to me,
Over the fields of glory,
Over the jasper sea.

2.     Safe in the arms of Jesus,
Safe from corroding care,
Safe from the world’s temptations;
Sin cannot harm me there.
Free from the blight of sorrow,
Free from my doubts and fears;
Only a few more trials,
Only a few more tears!

3.     Jesus, my heart’s dear Refuge,
Jesus has died for me;
Firm on the Rock of Ages
Ever my trust shall be.
Here let me wait with patience,
Wait till the night is o’er;
Wait till I see the morning
Break on the golden shore.

Be Safe!