This weekend I did something I haven't done for a very long time... I went to Disney Land!! It's funny how a place full of crowds, expensive food and heat can fill so many people with so much joy! Walt was a wise man and gifted at knowing how to bring smiles to the masses!
As I sat by myself in front of the train station on our last night there I watched people walking down Main St with smiles from ear to ear. I wondered about their stories... how long had it been since they had been there last? Were there childhood memories attached to this wonderful place? Were they starting traditions with their children? Was this a once in a lifetime thing for them? Everyone has a story and I think that is partly why I love being with people so much, you get to know their story and connect who they are now with where and what they have come from. But back to Main St... I saw parents holding children all while hauling strollers and bags of goodies and souvenirs, and they were still smiling. I saw couples holding hands and gleaming with the joy of a new marriage; and then couples celebrating years and years of marriage. There were teenagers jumping around like they were 5 all over again, for once not afraid of what anyone was thinking of them. It stirred my heart!
I started asking the Lord what made this place so special that people could set aside the struggles and heaviness of their lives and have joy in the "Happiest Place on Earth"? And then my heart was filled with sorrow because though this moment brought smiles, it wasn't going to change anything. As soon as they got home it was going to be real life all over again. And for most of them, they don't know the hope and joy that is Jesus! Just as I was thinking on that the Lord reminded me that this was the reason for us as the Bride to not stay shut up inside a church. This is the reason He told us to GO! Kind of a heavy moment for the benches of Disney Land!
There is a world out there that is hurting, the same kind of hurting we experienced before we knew the Lord. It's not about us being right and them being wrong, it's about us holding a gift that the Lord desires everyone to have. It was never a gift He meant for us to hold to ourselves but to share with everyone we can; whatever that may look like for you! I know for me, sitting down listening to people's stories and then being able to share mine tends to be the best way I know how to share this wondrous gift of love from the Father. It's about Kingdom living!
And as Easter quickly approaches, I am so thankful for the reminder that there are so many out there that deserve to know the greatest gift ever given. The challenge to not live so inward but to live a life of RELEASING! How great of a transformation will the church experience if it begins to be about those outside the doors rather than us and our needs all the time? I think we might begin to see the smiles that people experience through Disney becoming a more permanent thing because of the Saving Grace!
So, Lord, my prayer for tonight is that you teach us how to reach people where they are! Teach us how to be love in a world of hurt and strife. Open doors of opportunity to reach outward and love. Teach us as your bride the best way to release the joy that is true in this earth! May your church be filled with more smiles and freedom than Disney Land could ever offer! In Your precious name, Amen!
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