Adventure in the Southern Kingdom, Part the Mayor

I've been talking with the Father about my desire for a family vacation to the Southern Kingdom since before Eejee was born this year.  I wanted an extra helping of summer, having worked through most of our short Seattle summer.  I received the unexpected windfall as a resounding, "Yes!" to my desire for my family.  We got packed and arrived safely, but I didn't know what gift I should ask for.



The two days at Disneyland were definitely the highlight of the trip.  It was my first time at Disneyland and I brought a lot of baggage and unfilled desires.  Frontierland was chock full of boyhood dreams of adventure, but I wasn't quite sure what to do there.  I thought maybe I was supposed to finally get the Davy Crockett coonskin cap I wanted since I was about 3, but no hats were available in adult sizes. 

My kids got guns, lots of guns and they were the envy of all the other kids on Tom Sawyer Island.  I thought about buying a rifle for myself, the kind of rifle I always wanted as a kid.  Maybe someday I'll build my own black powder rifle, but that wasn't going something for this trip.

It's hard to explain, but I had an epiphany while waiting in line for Big Thunder Mountain.  I was offered and I received the gift of time from the Father.  Waiting in lines with these delightful children of mine was what I wanted.  Just wasting time together, being together.  And it was wonderful.

The magic of Disneyland happens when you spend time engaging the dreams of the small ones next to you, in a place that tells you those dreams are essential, that you need to recover your own lost dreams and guard theirs.

I didn't find my heart at Disneyland, just confirmation I'm on the right track to bring back the parts of my heart I've sent far away, finding restoration in Life Himself.  The Adventure continues at Michael Delving.