One of my favorite bible passages says “This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it.”
That pretty much describes my attitude on life. Though we traverse many peaks and valleys in our lives, there is always something to be joyful about.
To celebrate my retirement, I took a trip to Disney World with my daughter and youngest granddaughter. April in Florida — you would think the temperatures would be moderate and pleasant. You would be wrong.
It was in the 90s and oppressive and not a drop of rain. Florida is definitely a land of surprises! So, armed with many bottles of water, stops for popsicles and attempts to stay in shaded areas and air conditioning, we went about enjoying our Disney adventures, watching the magic through the eyes of my granddaughter.
My Fitbit counted near 20,000 steps every day. Through the meteorological monkey wrench of heat, we plowed forward nonetheless, armed with a small fan with water spritz capability. Thank you Disney for that one!
At the end of each day we were exhausted. But the feeling of joy and the memories of the magic filled us with a wonderful feeling. Disney is magic, albeit temporary.
Outside of the confines of Disney, war continued to rage, violence was rampant, protests on college campuses were out of control, problems existed. But inside the magical kingdom? No such angst. Smiles abounded, cast members were delightful, new friendships were forged, and lots of memories were made. And the spirit of kindness abounded, which we experienced first-hand.
While at Epcot, we decided to stand in line at Norway, for the “Frozen” ride. The wait time was posted as 30 minutes. OK, we can live with that. It was inside and it was air-conditioned.
With no strollers allowed, my daughter had to hold her very tired little girl, 40 pounds of love. In short order she fell asleep and seemed to get increasingly heavier in my daughters arms. As we threaded our way around the Disney-style cattle chutes, my daughter took a brief rest on a barrel that was there for decoration.
It would have been a very brief respite as the line continued to move, but the woman in front of me, obviously from another country, told her to stay where she was. Since the line would eventually loop back to that area, she would let her back in. That break for my daughter lasted a good 15 minutes, and totally reenergized her.
The kindness of this stranger was exactly what we needed. Within another 10 minutes or so, we were on the ride and my granddaughter woke up refreshed, face to face with Olaf (the singing snowman!). I have never seen a more delighted face!
I am most definitely grateful for the kindness of strangers, especially when traveling with children. We tried to pass that spirit of kindness to all we encountered, and it added to the already magical trip.
No matter what, it was the day the Lord had made. We were most definitely rejoicing and enjoying the gladness in our hearts. Kindness is contagious, pass it around!
