Years ago, my mother, aunts, and grandmother would get together to take trips every so often. They called them “sisters” trips.  

One time, they ended up in the Colorado mountains, and had a grand time in the snow.

Grandma was 88 years old at the time. She was a little woman, just under five feet tall. But she was all in for adventure at any time. And even though I wasn’t there for it, her adventure on this particular trip taught me about difficult times in life: She taught me to “lean into the curve.”

Leaning Into the Curve

The group decided to ride snowmobiles near Fraser, Colorado. So they rented snowmobiles and received instructions on how to turn, slow down, and lean into the curve.

With my Aunt Alice driving and my grandmother on the back of the snowmobile, they went to the top of their first hill to see what this “lean into the curve” business was all about as everyone else waited for them.

Aunt Alice wasn’t cautious — she gave it gas and roared down the hill, making a turn at the last minute. Grandma was leaning, and it looked as if she might fall off — which scared everyone else.

“Alice, slow down! You’re carrying my little mother!” Aunt Sue hollered.

Grandma was quick to defend Alice. “I was just leaning into the curve!” she said.

I laugh at this now, having heard the story so many times over the years from my mother. But isn’t that what we all need to do? Lean into the curve?

Life throws curves at us all the time.

This is Really Happening

As of this writing, I am going through a contentious divorce process. It isn’t something I wanted and certainly didn’t think possible even a few weeks before the initial paperwork was filed. But it was — and this is really happening.

The divorce proceedings have left me weary and, at times, depressed. For a while, I would wake up in the morning and realize it wasn’t a nightmare after all. This is my reality.

Truly my grandmother had pearls of wisdom. Just recently, as my mother was retelling the story of her trip, I realized that her experience was like life in general. It requires us to lean into the curve.

That doesn’t mean we have smooth sailing or never get angry. And it doesn’t mean we’ll never cry — because we will.

But after the cry, we get up, wipe off our tears, and move forward in the best way we know how.

He’s Always There

I get angry. I cry. I still don’t understand all of this. But I know Who does. And even though I mess up sometimes, He’s always there.

Isaiah 41:10 says, “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand” (NIV).

Jesus also sent the Holy Spirit to comfort us — and even pray for us when we don’t know what to say. “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever — the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.”

Romans 8:26-27 says, “For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.”

So, we lean in by prayer, faith, and trusting in the Lord to make all things right. Then we do the best we can.

I don’t know why I’m going through this hard time. I wish I did. But I do know that God is with me. He’ll never leave.

Draw close to the Lord and He will draw close to you. (James 4:8)

Lean into the curves.

Nancy Flory, Ph.D., is a senior editor at The Stream. You can follow her @NancyFlory3, and follow The Stream @Streamdotorg.