“A Whole New World!”

Some time ago, we took our granddaughter Stella to Disneyland for her third birthday.

Disneyland, the original Disney amusement park, is in my opinion still the best one. I have been to Disney World and their other parks in Florida and even visited Tokyo Disneyland years ago, but none compare to the original—envisioned and built by Walt Disney himself. It is rife with memories, not only from my own childhood but from countless trips there with my own sons.

When I was a boy, my father Oscar who adopted me took me on the Peter Pan ride. I screamed the whole time. I must have really thought we were flying boats in the sky!

When we used to take Christopher, we would always stop and have breakfast first in a little spot that is no longer there called The Incredible, Edible Egg. It happened to be near the place where the characters would appear in the park, so we told Topher that it was a great spot to get a photo before the crowds formed around Mickey and friends. The fact is, we just wanted to have breakfast, and he just wanted to get into the park and have some fun! And who could blame him?

On this trip with Stella however, we went to Sleeping Beauty’s castle because Stella was going to be made into a princess! Some friends had bought her a special package to become the Disney Princess of her choice.

You have to understand, I raised boys—so this whole idea of little girls and their fascination with dress-up is all new to me, but I am adapting quickly! And enjoying it too!

So we went into this little salon filled with little girls who were being transformed into their favorite Disney Princesses—from Sleeping Beauty to Snow White. The glitter was there in full force, along with lots of hairspray, outfits, crowns—you name it. We laughed and enjoyed every minute of it.

When Stella’s beauty makeover was completed, we went on rides and people would stop and point at her and say how cute she was. And indeed that was true. I was proud to escort Princess Stella around—that is, until she got tired of me and said, “I want my mommy!”

Disneyland is an effective illusion

It seems to me that adults should not be allowed into Disneyland without kids.

The problem with going to the park with people who are older is they often complain. “The lines are too long!” “This costs too much!” “I’m hungry!” (Or is that just me?) But when you take a child, Disneyland becomes, to borrow a line from one of their films, a whole new world! It’s all an illusion, but a very effective one.

The eyes of a child

It’s fun to see life through the eyes of a child—especially the Christian life. Didn’t Jesus say we must become “as little children to enter the kingdom” (Matthew 18:3)? That is no illusion. When you spend time with a “child in the faith”—that is, a new Christian—you see with new eyes the things that you have perhaps begun to take for granted. And that can bring about a rediscovery in your own life, and before you know it, you’re in “a whole new world.”

I encourage you to pray about someone you know, who is not yet a Christian. Prayerfully, they will come to put their faith in Christ and you will have the joy of watching them grow spiritually before your very eyes.

It will be for them (and you) “a whole new world.”