Welcome Home!

Welcome home, indeed.

Lest you think that the picture is somehow mistaken, it is related to this blog post.

I like going to Disney World. A lot. A lot more than most any other grown man I know would willingly admit. I've been there a few times. OK, maybe more than a few times. When I was a kid, we went there on vacation. A lot. Every year, my parents would try to get us to broaden our horizons and my sister and I would beg for another trip to the World.

Since I've made the transition from son to husband and father, the affliction has only grown worse. Walt Disney World has a strong pull on me that fills me with a sense of nostalgia for attractions long extinct and trips long past. When I'm there, it's 1986 all over again and I have just won a lighted 15th anniversary visor. Sadly, my Google image search for this visor failed to bring you a visual. The World is not only a place that connects me to my roots, but it's a place that I enjoy sharing with my wife and children. I'll never forget taking Maggie on her second trip in 2008, the first one where she was really aware of what was going on. We arrived at the Magic Kingdom, and as we began our trip down Main Street, U.S.A. I knelt down beside her and pointed to Cinderella Castle across the Plaza. As she caught sight of it, she put her arm around my neck, gasped, and told me, "Daddy, it's beautiful." No squeal of delight or dance of joy, just an awe-filled sense of wonder at what she was seeing: a fairy-tale land come to life.

At my core, I'm an EPCOT Center geek. You see that silver golf ball and I see Buckminster Fuller's geodesic sphere realized in its fullest form. Inside, the history of human communication is unfolded in a narrative inspired by Ray Bradbury. While the park has changed quite a bit since its heyday in the 80's, its still my favorite. My fandom runs deep. Thanks to the wonders of the Internet (thanks Al!) I found out there were others like me. Through podcasts, forums, and blogs, we share our fandom. We have our own language where we talk about ADR's, touring plans, and Tonga Toast. We distinguish EPCOT Center from Epcot. We participate in endless debates about the relative quality of current attractions versus their earlier incarnations, but at the end of the day, we share a common love.

In case you needed some quality 80's cheese today

I think the genius of what the resort offers can be summed up in the phrase I hear every time I check into a WDW resort. As I walk up to the counter and begin the check-in process, the person behind the desk will inevitably tell me the same thing they always do, "Welcome home, Mr. Landry". It's not my home, but it conveys to those of us who love it a sense of belonging and longing that can only be called homesickness.

When I'm not in WDW, it's usually not far from my thoughts. I have an app on my phone, just in case I need to know what the wait is for Space Mountain today. I read blogs and forums, and listen to podcasts about my favorite vacation destination. I'm always scheming how I can get back down there. It is present in my thoughts at all times and often dictates the decisions that I make in my daily life. In fact, it affects every decision of my life!

OK, maybe I'm exaggerating a bit. But when I think about the love that I have for my home away from home, I'm reminded of the desire that I should have as a believer for the homeland that I'll be going to soon. Faithful Abraham lived with that homeland in mind:

13 These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. 14 For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. 15 If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.

Hebrews 11:13-16

What my life look like if heaven were at the forefront of my life and its daily activities? I have a homeland that I look forward to going to, but I forget about it sometimes. In my current Sunday night series, we've spent a lot of time talking about heaven, and I'd venture that in the past few months I've spent more time looking at heaven than in the rest of my ministry combined. Unfortunately, I too often live and act as though this earth is all that there is. What about you? Where do you call home? Are you ready to go there? Do you live as though you are planning on going there? Is your aim heavenward? I'm reminded of this quote from C.S. Lewis:

Aim at Heaven and you will get Earth thrown in. Aim at Earth and you get neither.

What are you aiming for?