My Happy Place
Disney makes me happy…what can I say…it transforms me into a quintessential “kid” again. I literally skip toward the castle singing with excitement! Ha! Jerod and I went on our HONEYMOON there if that gives you any idea of how much this place means to us! We are total Disney Geeks 🙂 Check out this pic from our honeymoon: fanny pack, ginormous video camera and smiles from ear to ear. The first time I went to Disney World I was in the 8th grade, and I distinctly remember thinking, “Someday I want to come here with the love of my life!” 10 years later that dream came true.
Incomparable Love
Now, as parents, we have 2 little Disney super fans to add to the joy! The memories we’ve made at Disney rank among the tip top of our lives. One of my favorite memories (from 3 years ago) was this precious conversation while watching the stage show at Cinderella’s castle:
Mickey Mouse asks Minnie to dance and she says,
“Oh Mickey, but I’m not a princess!”
And he says,
“You’ve always been a princess to me, Minnie.”
And the music swells and they dance 🙂
That moment choked me up a little! My Connor said,
“Mom, why would that make you have tears in your eyes?”
I shrugged but my husband Jerod answered,
“All girls want to feel loved that way. Just remember when you get married to always treat your wife like she’s your one and only princess.”
Connor smiled and said,
“Will that make me Prince Charming?”
It was a golden opportunity to explain to our boys that husbands should love their wives, just as Christ loved the church (Ephesians 5:25). It’s a crazy, incomparable love…Jesus died for us, and that’s the kind of love husbands are to give their wives! When our boys fully grasp that, their future wives will be saying, “Prince Charming, who?? I’m married to Mr. Hill!” ❤️
Royal Dreams
As I contemplate all of these thoughts about royalty, love, and the difference between fairy tales and reality, I am struck by the irony that my devotional for today was from Psalm 45: “Let the King be enthralled by your beauty; honor Him, for He is your Lord.” The entire Psalm describes the royalty of the King and His royal family, (us).
I believe our fascination with royalty comes from a real need. We were born to place Jesus on the throne of our hearts…to worship Him…and to accept His love and the inheritance He’s given us!! Stop and let it sink in: when you make Jesus your Lord, you become royalty…a child of the MOST HIGH! Jesus fulfills that need, and anything else cannot compare.
I vividly remember dreaming of being a Disney Princess when I was little. My hopes were to be beautiful, loved, cherished, and fought for! And I think about my sons and their aspirations to be super heroes, like Spiderman and Captain America. My little Dylan said, “When I grow up, I’m gonna save people!” It’s in our hearts and minds to dream like this…God implanted those dreams!
I have had a revelation: reality looks different than my childhood dreams, but instead of being disappointed, I am seeing that God has something much better than what I could have ever envisioned as a child.
He is enthralled by us…we are His beloved! The Lord actually sings over us with love and fights for us daily (Zephaniah 3:17). He strengthens us and leads us to be someone’s hero. The enemy shoots plenty of fiery darts to discourage us, and life doesn’t look like a fairy tale, but if we will draw close to Him, He will reveal something far better: a reality of love that far exceeds our expectations. I’m thankful that (I’m not Cinderella but) I am His child…the King’s child…and I’m ready to exchange the ashes of any hopes and dreams the enemy has burned…for His beauty and His plan for my life.
A Taste of Heaven
I have dreamed of a “fairy tale life” but simply stated: this is not heaven, this is the fallen world we’re living in. But God gets us through it with His love and strength, AND He gives us little tastes of heaven to keep us going. See, the environment of Disney is inspirational because it’s a taste of heaven to me. It is a place filled with light and beauty and dreams. Stepping through the gates of Disney is a get-away from the harsh reality and darkness of this world.
I lost my Daddy to a tragic car wreck recently, and before that happened, we had been saving and planning for a trip to Disneyland. Honestly, we tried to cancel our trip because I didn’t feel “up to it” but thankfully we couldn’t get a refund! It turned out to be very healing for our little family during this time. Just being there reminded me that Jesus has OVERCOME and He not only loves us, but has a place for us to live with Him forever that completely surpasses any place here on earth…even Disney…LOL!
Seriously, if I think Disney is absolutely stellar and phenomenal…wow…it doesn’t even come close to heaven! We will be with Jesus, reunited with our loved ones, sin will not exist, and His beauty, joy, peace, love and perfection will be ours to enjoy for eternity! I might just have to stop right here and shout!
The Royal Treatment
But let’s talk about what God has for us right now, here on earth. While we were at Disneyland last week, I actually found myself daydreaming about living in Sleeping Beauty’s Castle. What would it be like to receive the “royal treatment?” I have quite the imagination 😉 This made me think of an actual royal, the Queen of England, and the Holy Spirit gave me this illustration:
Can you imagine the Queen of England saying to her servants, “Please sit down and let me serve you. May I massage your feet while you relax and have tea?” It’s hard to picture! But Jesus, King of Kings, who had all things under His power, washed His disciple’s feet. This was a slave’s job at that time! He told them that they should always follow His example and wash one another’s feet, and that “you will be blessed if you do so.” (John 13:17). Jesus turns it all upside down!
Truly we are sons and daughters of the King; we are royal! Here on this earth, with the time we’ve been given, we can follow Jesus’ lead in walking that out. If we ever find ourselves in a position of any power, leadership, or authority, we have not been placed there to be served, but instead we are there to serve others!
This is life changing…instead of being irritated that people are not pleasing us…we can walk around this world asking God, “How can I bless and serve these people right in front of me?” With His guidance, life becomes joyful and fun, and the expectations of everyone and everything making us happy (which will always disappoint) goes away!
I adore the ways of Jesus…so thankful to have Him as my King!
I think that the “royal treatment” that I’m really longing for consists of:
#1 receiving the incomparable love of my King, Jesus and
#2 loving and serving others like He did!
Children Of the Most High
This is our role as a dearly loved child of THE MOST HIGH! And I will dare say, it far surpasses any and every childhood dream of being a Disney Princess! He loves you so much, and longs to fill your heart with hope and love and peace. If you don’t know Him yet, and you are longing to know love like I’m describing and the peace of knowing who you are in Him, and you want to know where you will spend eternity, please pray this prayer with all of your heart:
God, I know that, in my lifetime, I have not always lived for you, and I have sinned. I know that you have plans for me, and I want to live in those plans. I pray to you for forgiveness for the ways in which I have sinned.
I am choosing now to accept you, Jesus, into my heart. I am eternally grateful for your sacrifice on the cross and how you died so I can have eternal life. I pray that I will be filled with the Holy Spirit and that I continue to live as you desire for me to live. I will strive to overcome temptations and no longer let sin control me. I put myself–my life and my future–in your hands. I pray that you work in my life and guide my steps so that I continue to live for you for the rest of this life.
In your name, I pray. Amen.
You are His beloved, and He (the King) is enthralled by you! You have an incredible adventure in front of you…walking in His love. He died for you, and He wants you to have a royal inheritance, living “happily ever after” in His kingdom forever! It is not a fairy tale, it is our reality, and the most beautiful, dream come true!