It Was More Than A Ride

 

When God had told me that He was taking us through a time that would be like an amusement park for a child, I started to think about my favorite park growing up.

 

It had a roller coaster that was really bumpy, called ‘the twister’, and it would take the riders upside down and then back right side up several times, while moving super-fast, and plummeting with a sudden drop more than once.

 

When falling into the drop, it felt like the end of my life, and I would close my eyes and grip the handle bars tight. But, then when I reached the bottom, it would fill my tummy with delightful butterflies and excitement because what seemed so dreadful turned out to be so much fun.

 

It was a brief time of a feeling a life-threatening adrenaline rush, all while feeling safe and protected. It was scary when in motion, because you never know when the ride will turn you upside down next, or plummet like a speeding bullet towards the ground.

 

I would hold my breath at times, because I didn’t know when the ride would end, and when it went upside-down, I was scared that I would fall out. Once the ride started, there was no other choice but to be carried all the way through.

 

It seemed all too soon when the ride came to a smooth end, I would feel so full of joy and awe, that I would run back into the line and ride the same roller coaster again and again. There were so many emotions, some very bad, and some very good.

 

At times, it wasn’t fun, but it was terribly scary. But once I made it to the end, and realized that there was nothing to fear, the joy of the ride made up for any moment of discomfort and fear.

 

Just like the roller coaster I remembered, the experience that God last took us through with this journey started out with a long, slow ascent up a steep incline. During that time, the fear, pressure, and anticipation of what would happen to us was the very worst part. If it was a ride, I wanted off, to be honest.

 

We were still at the Airbnb high rise apartment in downtown Chicago. Because we had stayed more than a month, my fees for the room as broken into payments. What I didn’t realize was that I had one last payment of $1002.

 

Once I discovered that there was one more payment left on our stay, I was praying that God would rescue us and cover that payment.Then, the Lord took me into an encounter with Him.He showed me a towering apartment building and there were two leaves. He continued to promise me that He would cover the “under-cover” (the past payment), and the “over-cover” (the next place where He would take us to stay).

 

I was comforted instantly. But what I didn’t realize was my timing was not God’s timing. The missing payment was a great place of fear for me, because I was afraid that we would be kicked onto the streets if we didn’t pay it in time. There were many other dangers of the ‘what if’s’ of what could be done, including a criminal offense, or even losing my Airbnb account.

 

It was like I suddenly stepped into a real-life twister, where the strong tumultuous winds of fear were screaming of all the bad outcomes that could be done. Day after day, the Airbnb app would attempt to charge my card, and it sent me into a whirlwind of panic each time it was declined.

 

At times, it felt like I was spinning with fear, when I thought about our delicate situation and how my child needed to be cared for, so I couldn’t be in trouble.

 

Yet, God would meet with me every night and assure me of His promises. He said the opposite of my fears would be done, and He gave me very detailed promises of exact financial amounts that He would send.

 

He encouraged me to make my prayers, like a child making a wish list, and then He promised that He would rescue everything on my “wish list” with His promise. During our intimate times, the Lord also promised to make up for the attack with added blessings. He said that He would set a standard of what I can expect from Him through this, by giving us extra blessings. When the enemy comes in like a flood, the Lord will lift a standard against him…..

 

On top of all the other life and death dangers we were facing of being on the streets in the 90 degree heat, there was a massive attack against me and those who God had connected to seeing these promises fulfilled.

 

At first, the fears were so intense, that I was unable to let go. God had made one very specific promise to me, and it was stolen by enemy hands before, because I was holding onto fear, and not trusting God. Because the promises of God do not prosper when mixed with unbelief. We have to let those fears go…

 

But then God gave me a promise to restore my promise with even more. The next wave of panic came when my key to the apartment stopped working. I was terrified to ask for a new key, because of my outstanding balance. Before I approached the front desk, I prayed and asked God to let them give me a key without a second thought.

I was crying thankfulness in the elevator when that is exactly what God caused to happen. The building replaced my keys two times during that last week of our stay, when I failed to pay my scheduled room payment. Any other Airbnb would have thrown us out, but God kept us hidden from watchful eyes, and the building never noticed we were in debt. The entire week was a constant battle of wrestling promise and fear. We were not safe because of the absence of danger, but we were safe because of the presence of God. 

There was also another test that God gave me in that week of immense pressure. Someone had offered me the amount of money that God promised to give me, but this person was requiring that I accept certain terms and conditions. However, the Lord told me not to touch it, and to trust Him to send the promise that was a GIFT from Him, with no strings attached. A promise is a gift of unconditional love, but it also goes through the fire of refining where our faith is tested to turn out as gold.

It took all my strength to decline the offer, and to follow the integrity of obeying God with my whole heart. Everything I had ever believed was being tested by contrast, and it was overwhelming.

 

One of the other prayers that I had made to God was that I wouldn’t be humiliated by not paying the money in time. I had asked God to show up before the Airbnb company confronted me for the money.

 

My life and my child’s life felt it was on the line, and yet God was giving me promises after promises of what He would do. One night during that week, God gave me a vision of a receipt, proving that His promise was certain, and then God said to “let go”.

When I released the last blog entry called, “I let go”, (https://diamondsfromthedust.com/2025/07/06/i-let-go/) it was a song of a very raw soul. I had finally come to the place where I accepted God’s promise over my own fears of getting hurt. I felt like Abraham putting my child on the altar and trusting His love. I chose to let go of my fears and trust God, even in the midst of our own survival.

 

It was the most intense moment of letting go of my fears that I have ever known. I chose at that moment to lay my heart on the altar of God, open and believing in what He promised. I died to my fears and I finally let go of them. I recorded the moment of letting go, while fighting back tears.

 

It was the deepest surrender, deeper than I can put into words. I felt instant relief, like a weight had been lifted, even though nothing had changed in my situation. I felt like Hannah, pouring out my anguish before the Lord, and then rising up with cheer, knowing my plea was accepted. 

 

The morning of check-out came and I had nothing. No money to go anywhere, and I still owed the $1000 payment. It didn’t go as I expected, but I had peace to trust that God was with us, and He would move at just the right time.

 

Just like I prayed, there was no humiliation. God had hidden the missing payment, even after we left. We left the Airbnb downtown, and God directed me to drive to the suburbs. So we took the long drive back to a nature-filled suburban town.

There was a pause, like when a roller coaster comes to the bottom of a sudden drop. We sat in the car, waiting on God to rescue us like He promised, but oddly enough, there was no fear. Only peace and trust.

 

It was a moment that seemed so quiet, when God did the unbelievable for us. He showed up the fulfillment of promise that was 5 times more than what He had said before the attack. Then He told me to pay the $1002 bill for the last room, and He protected us just like He promised to, with no humiliation or danger.

From sitting in the car with absolutely nothing but trust in His promise to show up, God took us to one of our favorite hotels, where we were given immense comfort, and soul nourishment. At times, I did not love the ride because it was so scary, but after experiencing God’s love in action as our ever-present rescue, I loved being so protected and cared for.

 

I felt like Moses hidden in the midst of crocodiles, during the roller coaster of this rescue. God protected us from all the dangers along the river bank, and not one single fear was permitted to harm us.

The lesson that I had to learn through this experience was the power of letting go of my fears and doubts. I had to come to the VERY end of myself in order to truly, honestly, fully let go.

 

When you have been holding onto something so tight for a very long time, letting go is not easy. We often have to stretch out hands open and shake the thing we were holding onto so tightly free. It is a powerful release that opens the door to phenomenal blessings.

 

Holding onto worry is fear in action. But resting on God’s promise with total confidence in His timing is one of the most powerful acts of faith that can be done. Less is more.

 

If God had told me what we were going to go through before this time, I would have never went on the ride because of the fear of it. I would have never taken the risk. However, it was the ride that set me free from the lies of danger, and I was able to feel the embrace of being hugged by God’s loving promise in a way that touched my heart to the core with comfort. It made me stronger…

 

After we finally landed in the hotel room, I felt like a child who came home after a day at the amusement park. I was still high on the excitement of all God did, and my heart was soaring with so much love from encountering God as my true love Hero.

 

I could still hear the uplifting music of the rides, and I remembered how the park glittered with lights in the evening, when the sky was dark at twilight. The sweet aroma of cotton candy lingered in my memory, and I couldn’t stop smiling. This was more than a ride, it was an encounter that changed me forever.

 

 

Love, Dannette

https://diamondsfromthedust.com/