We had climbed the stairs to the tippity-top – to the biggest and fastest waterslides. As an adult, I should have had no issues jumping into the colorful portal just like the numerous ten to twelve year old boys were enthusiastically doing while we waited our turn, so I tried to embrace the adventure that awaited me without letting my concerns become apparent to my kids.
I love water, don’t get me wrong, and I had no fears about that part, even if would have to take in a face full of chlorine water as I plunged down the slide. I’m not a fan of adventure sports, overall, though, like when adrenaline makes the contents of your stomach rise to your throat, makes your heart pump out of your chest, or makes your lungs forget to breathe. Yet here I was, responding to my boys saying, “Come on, Mom! Let’s go down the big slide!”
As I remember, there were a couple of choices of slides accessible from the room at the top of the stairs, but this one had many lights, including an option to “choose your own adventure.” For a different adventure each time, the rider had the option to make a choice which would change the music and lights within the otherwise dark tunnel of the slide, and therefore, it was a slide that people could go on over and over without ever getting bored of it.
As we waited in line, I was trying to draw from my past experiences to prepare for what was to come, and that’s where I was struggling. I could just have well been a baby instead of an adult, because even though there were signs explaining the ride, signs describing the “choose your own adventure” experience based on the lights and music, and a loud intercom voice preparing us audibly as we awaited our turn, the only thing that I could make sense of was the big red light which alerted me that this was the fastest, scariest, and longest slide at the water park. If I would have been skiing, this slide would have been the black diamond run, and I was not prepared.
While the bright signs and the voice echoing from the intercom were there to prepare me for the experience that were to come, I didn’t understand any of it. On this particular day, my lack of experience and understanding of the Czech language meant that I would be flying blind, just as a baby probably feels in a new and untested environment. I was insecure and didn’t feel entirely safe, as I prefer to be prepared and to know what is going to happen before jumping into something with abandon, so I did what many of us do… I relied on my mind to lead me.
The experience started off fine, and the lights and loud music appealed to my senses enough that I even considered going down again so that I could choose a different adventure button next time. As I neared the end, though, something happened that was different than anything I had ever experienced, so my thoughts went into action to solve the problem at hand… finding the way to freedom and life.
As I flew out the end of the slide, I noticed that I wasn’t going into water, but instead into a giant, wet funnel. As I spun around the top, spinning faster and faster as I got lower, I took one last big breath before being dropped through the hole and into deep water.
With my eyes wide open, I looked for the way out. Through the water, I could see a bright light beneath me and to one side, so I started swimming toward it. Deeper and deeper I went, expecting there to be an opening to a tunnel which would take me to safety. I recall thinking that this would be a challenge for many, and that I hoped the tunnel wouldn’t be very long to swim through, because the air in my lungs was running out. Just as I started to get concerned about when my next breath would be, I reached the light. Instead of a tunnel to freedom, though, it was just that… a light. As my hand flattened on the glowing plastic cover, I realized that my only choice was to swim upward and hope that freedom awaited me rather than only the plastic funnel to hit my head on.
Fortunately, God designed our bodies to float, so determining which direction was up wasn’t as difficult as my mind tried to make it. Before long, my head popped up just in time to take a deep breath of air. Standing and looking down at me were two young foreign men, one with a look of frustration and the other with a look of worry on his face. I was safe, confused, and a bit rocked by the experience, but I survived. Surprisingly, it came to mind again today, along with a lesson from Holy Spirit.
JUST BECAUSE SOMETHING IS BRIGHT AND SHINY DOESN’T MEAN THAT IT’S THE RIGHT WAY.
Some churches put a lot of emphasis on bright and shiny things to appeal to many and to “improve” the experience of church goers, but then they twist the truth of the Scriptures to validate the beliefs of a denomination rather than to point back to the Bible. Rather than focusing on The Way to heaven through the grace and love of Jesus Christ, denominations that focus on the bright and shiny things of the church mislead people and distract them away from seeking the light which leads to freedom and life.
Sadly, Christianity is so often presented by churches as a test of knowledge, a race of endurance, a path that is hard to find, a hierarchical order that is complicated, a holiness to strive for, and as something to earn that we are not worthy to receive. Shiny gold candle holders, expensive statues, the smell of incense, the powerful church organ, the ornate robes, and the familiar rituals become “church,” and these man-made representations so often become the experiences of what our minds connect with Christianity.
JUST BECAUSE SOMETHING IS BRIGHT AND SHINY DOESN’T MEAN THAT IT’S THE WAY TO FREEDOM.
What Holy Spirit revealed to me is that Christian churches have, for the most part, become what that light deep in the water was to me… a misguided goal. The churches are A light, but they are not THE light that sets us free. There is only one way to know our God the Father, and that is not through anyone or any denomination other than through Jesus Christ himself.
Jesus said to him, “I am the [only] Way [to God] and the [real] Truth and the [real] Life; no one comes to the Father but through Me. If you had [really] known Me, you would also have known My Father. From now on you know Him, and have seen Him.” – John 14:6-7 AMP
In the book of Acts, The Way is referred to numerous times in reference to followers of Jesus. Later known as Christians, the followers of Jesus lived their lives according to The Way, as one community of believers who loved one another, cared for each other, encouraged one another, and who built up each others’ faith.
The Way was the first “church” after Jesus came to earth, and it reflected him in every way. As The Way to freedom, this light was not one which had to be navigated to through tests of knowledge or by way of a hierarchy. Instead, it was the easiest and only way to the Heavenly Father, offered freely with grace and love to all who had faith in Jesus Christ as Lord of their lives.
Just as I had floated to the top for a lung-filling breath of air after expending all of my energy trying to find a way out through a false light of hope which offered no freedom, I now want to share with others the freedom that Jesus offers to anyone who wishes to receive it. Growing up as a Christian and as a member of many different denominations, I can see the disconnect more clearly now. After decades of striving, trying to earn salvation, listening to humans instead of God, and never feeling equipped with enough knowledge to understand, I can see that I was unfortunately chasing after the wrong light.
Once more Jesus addressed the crowd. He said, “I am the Light of the world. He who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.” – John 8:12 AMP
Don’t let yourself be distracted any longer by misguided goals and false lights, because the air in your lungs is quickly running out.
JESUS IS THE WAY, AND HE IS THE LIGHT TO FREEDOM.
(Originally published on Stephanie K Ford’s Facebook page on December 28, 2025)