Four years old at Disneyland

 

I was four years old when the first Disneyland, in Anaheim, CA, opened. We lived about a half hour’s drive away, through the fields of sweet corn and strawberries along Katella, to the Magic Kingdom. Ah, sweet memories. In those days Disneyland was much more low-key, though still magical. Much more affordable.

One of the attractions then (is it still there?) was Tom Sawyer’s Island. This was little more than a bit of ‘wild’ terrain, reached by raft or canoe: a construction of caves and water installations traversed by a couple of bridges, scary but safe. One, a ropes and wood contraption, swayed alarmingly from a height. The other looked easy by comparison, the wooden walkway constructed on a series of barrels resting on the water. It’s this bridge I am remembering this morning.

I am remembering the pure joy of childhood, being slightly anxious but assured of being safe because I was on this bridge with my big sister, my mom and my dad. We all tried to scare each other by jumping or running, causing the bridge to buckle and bob. But we all knew we were safe because this was, after all Disneyland, where safety was a key ingredient.

Key components at Mom’s residential home are changing as the director moves on. I received a photo this morning of Mom in her room, eating a take-away burger and milkshake but looking thoroughly exhausted having spent two hours at the doctor’s office. In six weeks, she will turn 100.

As I read Matthew 6 in a daily reading this morning, the Lord brought back the picture of me as a child with my family, laughing as we navigated the highs and lows, the twists and turns of that bridge at Disneyland. Laughing because we trusted the safety checks of the Magic Kingdom.

Underneath are the everlasting arms. Mom and I are on such a bridge these days. As I do my best to walk her home, trying to dismiss fears of an uncertain future, to silence all the ‘what-ifs’, may I trust in the everlasting arms of the one who holds the keys to the everlasting Kingdom. May we even be released into laughter and joy as we both put our trust in Him to keep us safe on this bobbing bridge.

‘So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.’  Or, in the KJV, ‘Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.’