Have A Disney Day!

As I was thinking about what to write in my blog today, for some reason I couldn't get Disneyland out of my head. A few months ago my mom was going through some old stuff and she gave me a couple things that I had made when I was little. One of the items was a little book I made in Kindergarten. In the book I said that my favorite place to go was Disneyland. Growing up my parents would take us about once a year. Of course being 5 years old, what other place would you want to go to?

Then, I started thinking about my many trips to Disney and this one memory popped in my head. It was my 19th birthday, I was at Disneyland with my family and one of my friends. We were so busy going on rides that we didn't eat for about 8 hours. I was starving by the time I got my food. As soon as I sat down, I just gobbled it up. There was just one problem, I didn't chew enough and I ended up choking on a piece of meat. My uncle did the Heimlich on me a couple times and the meat flew out. According to my family, it was just like the movies, you know when the food comes flying out. Of course for me everything was in slow motion. I remember everyone doing different things. One of my aunts realized I was choking (the meat lodge in my throat immediately so I did not make any sound). Another aunt told my uncle to help me and told my Nana to pray (and she did). I remember seeing the people in the table behind us just staring at the spectacle of us all. After the meat came out I started crying. My uncle told me to turn around and hug him. So I hugged him and cried in his arms. My uncle made sure I was okay, then I sat back down and ate a little more of my food. I was a little shaky but I was still hungry. My uncle made a comment about how he was glad the meat came out because he was afraid he was going to have to stab me in the throat and there didn't seem to be anything around to help with that. And that is my crazy Disneyland story.

Normally, when most people think about Disneyland they remember the whole "may your dreams come true", fantasy, fun stuff. I realize that even when we are at the "happiest place in the world," things can still happen. However, it is nice to know that we get to choose how we will respond. Obviously, this incident didn't detour me from going back to Disneyland, since the picture above was taken a few months ago. However, I could have continued to focus on the fact that I had just choked, chosen not to eat any more food, and not let myself have fun the rest of the day. But I continued to eat my food and enjoyed the rest of the day. Even laughing a little at the way my uncle described not wanting to stab my throat (okay so maybe I was needing a little stress relief). I think sometimes in life we focus on one incident or maybe whatever is causing us stress in the moment, and then we let that incident or stress take over instead of giving it to God. I realize how detrimental holding on can be to my life. Although, letting go isn't very easy at times. When I think of different things that have happened in my life, I realize how much I have learned from all my experiences.

I would actually consider my choking Disney day a learning experience rather than a bad memory. I say this because I relate the incident to the importance of chewing on God's Word. When we take the time to chew on God's Word before we get hungry (something bad happens), then when we are hungry we have His Word ready and available; versus trying to hurry, swallow, and understand in a moment of crisis. Disneyland is just like the rest of life we can let our world be full of fantasy (faith) or we can choose to hold on to reality (our control or stress) and miss all the fun (God's glory). I am thankful that stress can be turned upside down with God. That in faith we can give each memory and moment to Him, taking the time to meditate on His Words. Then He can help us see the good and His blessings in each moment of life, in each moment of a memory. Yeah for Disneyland days in all sorts of ways! The END!

"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:6-7