Bearing Witness

On Tuesday, August 3rd, I found myself in the most enviable position of being able to spend the day alone with my almost-3-year-old grandson. I had one use left on the 3-use Disney Park ticket I had received for Father’s Day, so I decided that he and I should go before my ticket expired and Jeffrey lost his get-in-free status on his birthday. Having never been to Disney’s California Adventure Park, that is where we found ourselves when their gates opened.

I had heard so many glowing reports about the “Soaring over California” attraction, so that was the first place we went to begin our fun-filled day of standing in line. We confidently strode right up to the end of a vast queue of humanity, certain that it was now only a matter of time before we would actually be soaring over California. I wasn’t even worried when a Disney line-troll asked to measure Jeffrey to verify that he met the silly height requirement of 40 inches… after all, we had worked all morning with the gravity boots, and the ever popular swinging-the-kid-around-by-his-ankles. Imagine my chagrin when we were ejected from the line because Jeffrey still only measured 37 ¾ inches! If you can’t trust gravity and centripetal force, what can you trust?!?

We ended up spending most of our time in the park in an area called A Bugs Land. If you have toddlers, this is a theme park made just for them! Oh, and don’t forget their bathing suit (or a change of clothes), as there are several places to play in the water. Kids really love playing in the water… especially with lots of other kids. Needless to say, Jeffrey had a great time getting wet, riding on rides sized just for him, and explaining everything to Pop-pop (I had a great time, too).

Throughout the Disney theme parks, there are plenty places where Disney characters hang out (with a professional Disney photographer, of course). Just wait in line for a bit and you can shake hands with Mickey, mug for the camera with Goofy, or dance with Tigger. The photographer takes your picture, you get a card with a code on it, and you can marvel at the amazing quality of professional photographs... later… at your leisure… online… and only… HOW MUCH?!? Hahaha… they don’t force you to buy anything, and the photographer is quite obliging… offering to take pictures with your camera or cell phone, too.

Anyway, Jeffrey spotted Pluto as we entered A Bugs Land, and began tugging me over to that line.

“Can we go see Pluto, Pop-pop?” he exclaimed.

I didn’t even realize he knew who Pluto was, but before you could say “you-old-softie”, we were in line to see Pluto. Remembering the meltdown with the Mall Santa at Christmas, I immediately started thinking that this was a bad idea. Still, Jeffrey kept tugging me forward every time the line moved up a bit, so I began studying Jeffrey for clues as to how he was going to react to a 6-foot dog. He was, in a word, inscrutable. He was intensely watching the people in line and Pluto. He watched 2 sisters squeal with delight when Pluto signed their autograph books. He strained to see 5 young men high-five Pluto, and eagerly pose for pictures with him. And he listened to the young couple in front of us telling everyone that Pluto was their absolute favorite Disney character.

When his time came, he RAN to Pluto, and buried himself in his arms! He was laughing and smiling, and more than happy to pose for a few pictures. I was amazed!

Later, I thought… if only people ran to Christ like that! None of the people in line that day were thinking about being a positive witness for Pluto, but they were. They were all excited about the prospect of spending just a few seconds with a fictional cartoon character. They all knew what they were in line for, and they knew to run to him when he stretched out his arms. There was no Disney line-monitor telling us what to do… neither were they aware that other people were watching to see who they were excited about… where they were going… and who they were going to see. But little eyes were watching.

What kind of witness are we bearing for Christ? Do we know what we are in line for? Are we excited about taking others along with us? If we are excited, do we openly share it with those around us? How often do WE go out of our way to run into the outstretched arms of Christ?!? We don’t often think about ourselves as actively bearing witness for Christ, but… the eyes of the world are watching us all the time.

“Can we go see Jesus?”

Are you lined up for Starbucks on Sunday morning, or the Lord’s Table?

Your brother in Christ,

Dave