Thanks to my in-laws, my family and I were given a wonderful opportunity to go to the house that Walt built: the one, the only . . . Disney World. Though it wasn’t my first time at Disney World, it was my first time to try to think Christianly about my vacation there. Here’s what I came up with. Let me know if you think of others.
This first list is nothing earth-shattering, but it’s too important to leave out.
I should be thankful to God:
-for the opportunity to focus on my family. When else do I get to step away from other responsibilities for the sole purpose of focusing on my relationship with those that are closest to me?
-for the opportunity to receive happiness and bring happiness to my family. My wife and I aren’t what you would call wealthy by Western standards, so it was nice to be able to do little things like let each kid pick a couple of souvenirs out or let each kid pick a treat for the day. Besides, when else do you get to meet movie stars like Mickey, Donald, and Pluto or Woody and Buzz (Toy Story)?
-for my in-laws for providing this opportunity. Apart from their generosity, it would have been a long time before we were able to afford this kind of trip.
-for the vision of Walt Disney and those who followed him. To my knowledge, Walt was not a believer, but how can you look at the amazing creativity, imagination, organization, and vision of the Walt Disney company and not believe that it all came from an amazingly creative, imaginative, and visionary God of order. Common grace is on display at Disney World from the flowers to the buildings, from the shows to the parades, from the -well, you get the point.
But, I dare not just stop there:
-As I was surrounded by all kinds of different cultures, languages, and ethnicities, I had this thought: just as Disney world brings people from all languages, cultures, ethnicities, etc. the Gospel also unites people from all walks of life. The Tower of Babel (Gen. 11) began what will one day be resolved through the gospel in Heaven.
-We almost had too much fun if there is such a thing, but one lesson I have recently learned is that activities of fun, rest, play and leisure are merely shadows of the great rest we will one day experience fully in Christ. We are tempted to make the fun the focal point, but they are truly arrows pointing up to the giver of the fun.
-Another thing that I have noticed recently is that practically all of the Disney stories contain elements of the eternal desires of our souls. In each of us, God placed a longing for something more than the temporary things we see. We all have a longing for meaningful relationships -even for adventure. In the stories, there are almost always forces of good and evil at work and good ultimately triumphs over evil. All of this and more are reflections of the God given eternal desires of the human heart.
-About the fifth day, we were all pretty tired and I realized that we may take a vacation from some responsibilities, but the Lord does not allow us to take a vacation from all responsibilities. We can never stop walking with Him, witnessing to others about Him, or loving our spouse and children as well as others.
-Lastly, I am most thankful to the Lord because this vacation gave me an opportunity to see areas of selfishness that I would not have otherwise seen. As much as I wanted it to be, MY vacation was not all about ME. I have come back from vacation a humbler man because, like others, I tend to act like my problem exists outside of me. When most of those problems are taken away, I am forced to reckon with the fact that my problem is still there -because it exists INSIDE of me.
God help us to vacation well.
semper reformada 
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