Some people love those waterslides that they zip through at the speed of light, colours blurring together until they can’t see anymore, breath caught in their throats until they land with a splash in the pool of water at the end.

I hate those waterslides. The very thought of them makes me nauseous. That’s why I always avoid them while at a waterpark. My friends can’t understand. “That’s the whole fun of it! The slow ones are boring, sometimes you even stop in the middle and have to push yourself along.”

I think I understand why I hate those waterslides so much. While undertaking a hair raising ride where you speed faster, faster, faster, there is one thing that you cannot do. You cannot stop yourself. Even if you want to. You have no control whatsoever. It’s as if the slide is the one deciding, and you’re, well, going along for the ride.

But. In life we have to realize that there is Someone who in in control. It may seem like we are the ones in control, planning, doing, scheduling, structuring…. But really, Hashem knows exactly what we are going to go through in life.

And there’s no reason to be afraid. Even when things may seem scary, even if we may be losing it, even if things are “not going according to plan.” Because when Hashem watches over us, we always land safely in a pool of water at the end.

And that’s the lesson I learnt from the waterside.