Four teenage girls took a trip to Disney World in 2005. I was one of them. My parents drove us the six-ish hours from Alabama to Orlando, dropped us off at our hotel and left us to our own devices for the next five days — while staying at another hotel close by, just in case.
As you can imagine, the trip was full of thrill rides, silly character visits, and lots of singing. We marched through every park on a mission to find the perfect balance of independence and childish wonder. It was winter, so we each had on our favorite Mickey Mouse, Ariel, or Stitch sweaters — which went off and on throughout the day because Orlando, even in winter, isn’t exactly cold. We began the day in Magic Kingdom on Peter Pan’s Flight and ended it with a firework display in Epcot. Nothing could have been more magical.
Except that we were teenage girls, with teenage girl hormones. When one of us was ready to visit Goofy, another was just as adamant about a trip to the Haunted Mansion — and the decision would make or break the entire trip, obviously. At one point, the quarreling grew so tiresome, I took a break and explored Animal Kingdom with my mom and dad. Who, while there for emergencies, might not have anticipated that particular emergency. They were happy to welcome me nonetheless. And it was a relief to be away from the teenage antics for a bit.
It was a good experience for a girl on the edge of womanhood — a feeling of complete independence with a nice, big comfortable safety net underneath. Sometimes that’s exactly how Jesus shows up for us. We have total independence. We can chart our own course, make our own mistakes or make our own good decisions. But at the end of the day, He is our safety net — happy to catch us when we fall. Because just like those teenage girls, we carry a definite propensity for both independence and complete dependence.
That trip wasn’t my first experience with Disney magic though. The ‘happiest place on earth’ is one of my most foundational memories of joy. It’s been a favorite destination for my family since I was a small child. I remember the first time. My mom held my hand as we walked into the hotel grounds. There in front of me, larger than life, was a statue of Mickey Mouse. The pools were shaped like instruments and scattered with Disney icons. And the parks — I can’t even begin to describe the enchantment of my first trip on Peter Pan’s Flight. I had been drawn into the story of fairies, pirates, and mermaids. Magic permeated my existence. In fact, I never wanted to get off the ride!
My dad led our family through the parks with gentle guidance and a sureness of where we were headed. He had been before, and he knew the way. Leading our family came naturally to him, and he navigated us through crowds of people, hot dog stands, and every other kind of distraction with perfect ease.
This first trip to Disney reminds me of my first experiences with God. There is an overwhelming wonder to discovering the omnipotent One. The God who loved you enough to die for you. Who every day guides you through the unknown — with all the gentle care and sureness of a loving father.
While my own father reflects Christ in our family in so many ways, I’ve since learned that he’s not quite as omniscient as the Father himself. Or at least, if my own recent experience is anything like his, then his act of shepherding wasn’t as effortless as it once appeared.
Many years later, I returned to Disney World — this time as a mother leading the way. My own little family of three visited Disney this spring, and I was the only one who had been before. I’m also the vacation planner in the family, so it was naturally up to me to lead the charge. I still felt the same rising excitement and enchantment in my body the moment we pulled up to the Art of Animation resort —it’s amazing how childhood wonder doesn’t fade when we love something like this. The larger than life statues — this time of The Lion King and The Little Mermaid — still made my heart glow.
But rather than stare in awe at the hotel, I was responsible for checking us in and navigating us to our room. The child in me wanted nothing more than to just walk around in wonder, but the adult in me needed to guide my husband and daughter to our destination. And so it was for our entire visit.
I directed us through Mainstreet, USA — careful not to let the bright colored balloons and smells of popcorn distract me from navigating my family to the real fun. It’s hard not to just stop and stare at Cinderella’s Castle, even though I’ve seen it before. It still inspires that much magic in my heart. But I gently led my husband, his hand in mine, and our preteen daughter who failed in her characteristic preteen duty to be unimpressed. We made it to Peter Pan’s Flight thanks to my careful observance of signs and surroundings. Contrary to what I’d previously believed, there probably isn’t some inner compass that brought my dad directly to it. He probably also had to use the signs and surroundings method.
My faith walk has been like that too. It started off in simple childhood wonder, lovingly shepherded by God and my parents. Later, there was a sense of growing independence in my faith, with plenty of growing pains and detours. And now, as my husband and I lead our own family, it’s not laid out as simply as I would like. There’s work involved in this walk of faith, but the destination is more than worth the effort — just like we are encouraged to do in Proverbs, “In all of your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight (3:6 NIV).” And that feeling of wonder at my magnificent Savior? Even as the one guiding a family now, that wonder will never fade.
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