Tuesday night, I was at DisneyWorld with my husband and 14 year-old son. It was a beautiful summer night, contrasted by the pain that I felt from my feet that had traipsed around the Magic Kingdom for 14 hours. At exactly 10 pm, the fireworks began. And they were dramatic and colorful and loud.
In order to understand the context of this post, you need to know that I have a love/dislike relationship with Disney. It has been four years since we visited DisneyWorld and I wondered how I would feel about the experience this time. I can't remember the number of times we were "welcomed home" on our first day. The customer service is nearly perfect and we thoroughly enjoyed the days spent in the parks. However, Disney is also a marketing machine that may be unsurpassed in the business world. I couldn't help but think how many visitors will unpack their bags at home and wonder why they purchased all of the Disney merchandise.
So, as I am watching the fireworks and singing along with the song, I listen to the words. "When you wish upon a star, your dreams come true."
All I could think is, "This is not the message we should be giving to our children". We need to let them know that wishing upon a star will not give them what they need. And even if their dreams do come true, it may not be why they were created for this world.
The only way for them to get what they need, is to believe in the saving word of Jesus. Building a personal relationship with our Savior will help them to achieve what it is that they were born to do in this world.
Living that relationship does not preclude spending a few fun-filled days in a fantasy world filled with friendly characters and thrilling rides and beautiful fireworks. It just means that they -and we -must realize that it is simply a fantasy world and no amount of wishes on stars will help them fulfill their destinies.
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