What I learned at Disneyworld....

Pastor Pete recently did a series called “Paralyzed” at our church. It was all about the fears that hold us back in life. Of course we all have fears that get in our way. They stop us from doing or experiencing things that might be wonderful. On a VERY basic level, I experienced that this past week on our trip to Disneyworld.

I have always been terrified of heights, scared of the dark, and extremely claustraphobic. And rollercoasters…?? Forget about it!! NOT doing them!! Whenever our family would go to any amusement parks, I would always “volunteer” to stay behind with the little kids, who were too scared to ride the big rides. “You guys go ahead to Space Mountain, and I’ll take the young ones to the Dumbo ride.” Wasn’t I sweet??? Letting the other grown-ups have all the “fun” while I took on the “responsibility” of taking care of the kids. The truth was, I didn’t want to go on the big rides. I was scared. It was my “out” to hang with the little kids. Someone had to do it, right? What a sacrifice I made!!

This time, just Mike and I went to Disney. Uh-Oh. How am I going to get out of riding the “Tower of Terror” without looking like a complete wimp?!?! And those ROLLERCOASTERS??? … or Splash Mountain?? I couldn’t let my poor husband ride all alone. What’s the fun in that?!?! But I truly was terrified. “Paralyzed” if you will. SO….

I started with “Splash Mountain”. When I found out it was my 5 yr. old niece’s favorite ride, I thought “Geez.. if a FIVE YR. OLD loves it, it can’t be THAT bad, right?!?” So, I gathered all the nerve I could gather and I went for it. And you know what?? Although I spent much of the ride nervous about the big drop that I knew was coming, when it was over I thought, “Wow, that WAS kinda fun.” So, Mike said… “Ok, are you ready for “Space Mountain???" Ummmmmm… ok, but now I have to face my fear of the dark too… hmmmmm.

As we stood in line, I started feeling the nervousness creeping up in my stomach. As I boarded the coaster, I was telling myself things like, “Well, if God’s plan is for you to die on a rollercoaster, then you can’t stop it anyway, so….” And “How bad can it be? Just close your eyes and hold on as tight as possible and it will be over in 3 minutes.”

Suddenly, it was over… and as Mike and I are getting off the ride he says again… "You alright?”… and I could honestly say, “Yes! I am! That was fun!!” He laughed and said, “Fun? Really?” and I said, “Yeah, it kinda was!” I was amazed. I was starting to “get it”… Now I was beginning to see why everyone else loved getting on those rides so much. They were exhilarating! They made you feel extra ALIVE for those few brief minutes you were on them!! Now there was NO turning back for me. I was NOT leaving Disneyworld until I had ridden every single ride that I had avoided my whole life.

Next up… “Mission Space”. Even though there were repeated warnings (Ride may not be suitable for people with fear of dark, enclosed spaces or sudden drops) I pushed down the panic that kept trying to rise up in my gut and got on. “AGAIN!! I WANNA DO IT AGAIN!!!”, I said. Mike was amazed. “Really?”, he said. “YES! I’m hooked now! I think your cautious little wife has just been turned into an adrenaline junkie!!” So we rode it again.. then “Expedition Everest”, “Tower of Terror” and “Aerosmith’s Rock n’ Rollercoaster”. All those rides that I said I would NEVER do, I did!! And I LOVED them…. LOVED THEM ALL!!

At one point, I suddenly felt sad, then a little mad. All those fears had kept me from doing something that I really loved to do! My fears had CHEATED me!! Darn it!! And I realized that I have other fears that are holding me back from even more important things in life that I’m afraid to try. I’m not living like that anymore. I’m going to stop letting my fears make decisions for me and I’m going to pray a little harder that God guides me as I run through this crazy world…..

So I learned a big lesson from my trip to Disneyworld. I learned the benefits of facing my fears. And I started reading, “The Shack” which is also life changing…..but that’s a topic for another day. :-)

What are you guys afraid of??? C'mon.. spill it!!!!