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I Trust Disney
Three days before my husband and I were
to leave on a two week vacation/convention trip to Orlando,
Florida, we received some traumatic news. That one single phone
call flipped our family upside down. Let’s just say, it was one
of those “suck the wind out of you” phone calls. One of those,
“I can’t believe this is happening” moments. Life began to
unravel quickly. I cried, moaned, groaned and felt sick to my
stomach. My normally robust appetite immediately stopped. Tears
became my food. In spite of it all, we decided to continue our
plans to the land where dreams come true. After all, the tickets
were already purchased, and friends from college and seminary
days were waiting to connect with us. There was really no
advantage to staying home, so off we went. Rather than
experiencing moments of magic, I felt like life had become a
nightmare. With heart racing and wild thoughts screaming
ferociously in my head, I fell prey to fear. I imagined the
worst. I dwelt on if I could have prevented this from happening.
I confessed “guilt” over the shoulda-coulda-wouldas. I thought,
“This can’t be happening to our family” but it was.
One day we went to
Disney’s Animal Kingdom with our friends. I tried not to look on
the outside how I felt on the inside, but wasn’t very
successful. I cried frequently, walked slowly and ate little.
The four of us went on a roller coaster called Kilimanjaro. I
didn’t know what to expect, but I knew it would be OK because I
trust Disney. This ride started off in the bright sunlight, but
we quickly found ourselves careening into pitch blackness, going
pell-mell into who knows what. Our cart carried us upwards
slowly, and then raced us down fast. There was a LOUD monster
noise screaming from somewhere. Outside again, we found
ourselves going up, up, up on the tracks, but then we halted.
The tracks stopped because the Lock Ness monster had “torn up”
the tracks. We sat there for a few seconds… waiting…waiting
until the roller coaster took us backwards into the inky
darkness at break-neck-speed. I kept telling myself it will be
OK because I trust Disney. There will be no harm befall us
because thousands of people come out just fine when it’s over.
God spoke to me through
that ride. What I was experiencing in life was similar to a wild
ride into the darkness. It is loud, scary and I don’t know what
is “out there”, or whether we will go up, down, forwards or
backwards, BUT I am safe because I am in the palm of His hand.
He is holding me tight and will be with me. When I was a child,
I memorized the verse, “What time I am afraid, I will trust in
Thee.” Ps. 56:3 As an adult, that verse is still helping me. I
don’t have to be afraid because my trust is in Him. I am really
amazed at God’s faithfulness, by meeting me where I was. He used
a Disney ride as an object lesson. That is one thing I love
about my Jesus… He is always there.
Now I am home. We just
finished VBS this week. The children were given a bracelet that
says, “Watch for God”. I am wearing mine and remembering my
Disney experience. Yes, I trusted Disney during the ride, but
greater than that, I trust in God with my life. He is everywhere
and He will see me safely to the other side no matter how dark,
scary or sad life may be.
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