"A whole new world!" Adventures with Princess Stella
We recently 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 taking my own sons there.
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 where the characters would appear in the park, so we told Topher (Christopher’s nickname) 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?
Princess Stella
On this last trip, our whole group–Stella, her little sister Lucy, her mother Brittany, Uncle Jonathan, Grandma Cathe, and myself–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 herself 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 in 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 cost 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 as you discuss great truths of Scripture with someone who is seeing them for the first time. And that can bring about a rediscovery in your own life, and before you know it, you’re in “a whole new world.”
With the Southern California Harvest only days away, I encourage you to pray about someone you know who is not yet a Christian, and plan on bringing them. 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.”
I’m speaking at Saddleback Church this weekend
As you may know, I am speaking tonight and Sunday at Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California, following the showing of the newly-edited film of my life, Lost Boy: The Next Chapter. I hope to see some of you there.
Don’t forget to check out my weekend column at WorldNetDaily here, and my long-form weekend devotional here.
