Random Day

It is nice every once in a while to have a random day with no structure and the only intent is on having fun. Yesterday one of my great friends Patrick and I went to Six Flags Magic Mountain outside of L.A. We left my house at 6:30 AM to fight both San Diego and L.A. traffic to make it to northern L.A. for the day.

We stopped at the Denny's just outside the park for breakfast. I had the Meat Lover's Breakfast Slam (also known as the heart attack special). By the way, they do still sell the cheap Original Grand Slam Breakfast for $3.99 but it is written in micro font on the bottom inside of the menu!

After two and a half hours waiting for the first ride called X, I was ready to go home. That by far was the longest line however and it really was worth the wait. I realize if you are nice to the people working there you can ask them for the best seats and they will usually let you have them. You always go on X first because inevitably it breaks down before the end of the day. After that the lines were maybe 45 minutes or so which wasn't too bad.

I think you can cover about every topic known to man in the space of 12 hours standing in line. I know some people who see no value in going to a theme park. In fact, I know a few youth pastors who won't take their groups because they are not "ministry" oriented. What they fail to see is what better way to build relationships and get to know people than being with them for an extended period of time. After a while you get beyond the surface stuff and really began to talk at a deeper level. I've probably had as many life changing conversations at Six Flags as I have in any other setting. Not only that, they get to see that I am just a regular guy who happens to be a pastor.

Beyond that, I think that God wants us to have fun. To some people that may sound like heresy but I think it is absolutely true. I don't understand how people can become so serious and so uptight that they forget how to laugh and enjoy life. People may think I am silly, stupid or immature at times but I'll live with those criticisms and they can live with their ulcers and worry.

Maturity is knowing when to be serious and being able to do so. It is not being uptight and grumpy. But I also think that maturity is being able to look at all the serious things in life and still be able to laugh and remember that most of it really isn't that important. We need to relax and lighten up. Sometimes there is no better way to do that than screaming down a roller coaster at 80 miles an hour.

Let's face it, sometimes you just need a random day.