The weather was amazing.... 75-80 degrees fahrenheit every day. It was as if God had ordered it up special for us; the sun-starved northeast Ohioans. Roses were blooming, the sun was shining and entertainment abounded for 7 wonderful days. We ate gourmet meals in Epcot, rode Dumbo in the Magic Kingdom, watched stunt cars at Hollywood Studios, and marveled at the beauty of God's creation at Animal Kingdom. The older kids were thrilled with roller coasters and the younger ones with life sized characters come to life. It was the perfect vacation.
Disney works really hard to help everyone have a "vacation of a lifetime", but it wasn't the Disney magic which made this vacation perfect for me. It wasn't an incredible stage show or even the amazing food and culture of World Showcase at Epcot that caused me to want to photograph every detail of every day. It wasn't even watching my 7 year old being asked by Prince Charming to dance at Cinderella's ball or the incredible, amazing, out of this world Christmas light display at Hollywood Studios which synchronized its lighting to Christmas music. Really, it wasn't.
The magic was found in the time spent with each one of my wonderful children and husband. As I watched the wonder of the seven and four year old I was reminded of the swiftness of time as their faces reflected the memory of my 19 and 17 year old as young ones. Standing next to my grown and nearly grown children I was reminded of the gift of family and how my life has been so rich and full because of these people. Their presence reminds me of God's plan for my life and how much greater it is than any I could ever have imagined. The magic was the capturing of the moments in photographs, memories, laughter.
I am now convinced that holidays are best spent in simple, yet wonderful ways. Our famiy is unanimous in agreement that the best Christmas gift to give is time for each other. By stripping our holiday of fancy wrapping and gifts we can focus on who God is and the majesty of His gift of relationships. Is that not, what Christmas is a reminder of anyway? It was just over 2,000 years ago that God provided us with a physical Savior in Jesus Christ so that we might be able to have a relationship with Him and spend an eternal amount of time enjoying it.
Thank you, dear God, for the holiday which reminds us to stop, ponder and treasure all of these things in our heart.
"But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart"--Luke 2:19