The sweetness of contrast

Today after a sweet morning at church, we had a lunch packed and headed out to the House of Mouse (aka Disney). Believe me when I tell you that I seriously believe in global warming after being outside today. It was pretty incredible. However, despite the heat, it was such a good day. This was the first time that we had been in quite a while and it was a much needed break. One of my favorite things today was that this was the first time Stinky Pete was big enough to enjoy and participate in a lot of the rides instead of just being an observer. She had such a good time on the Carousel and Peter Pan's Flight. It was so fun for all of us enjoying her joy.

Even though it was really unbelievably hot, my family had such a great attitude! There was no complaining or grumbling. And, we woke up much earlier today than our usual routine in order for Mike to lead worship this morning.

Another thing that made today so great was there were no lines! It was pretty surprising because walking around it felt pretty crowded, but the longest ride we waited in line for was Thunder Mountain Railroad and we only waited 10 minutes! Yes, you read that right, only 10 minutes. We even got to jump in the fast pass lane on Space Mountain for the baby swap! That's one of Lauren's favorite rides.

As the sun set we headed for the gate and stopped to watch the fireworks. It was such a sweet ending to a really good day. Then, in the story of the fireworks, as Disney always does, the evil sorcerer was displayed and had it's part in the show. It made me so frustrated. I silently asked the Lord, "Why?" Why ruin this neat fun time with a display of evil? I felt Him say to me "You wouldn't know how good the good was without seeing the bad".

As I watched the rest of the firework show, it was so great. The finally was a wonderful display with my favorite kind of fireworks - the streamers. As I enjoyed the ending, I really thought about being able to enjoy the good because of experiencing the bad. Now, the fireworks were not all that much of a display between good and evil, but as I thought about it, so much of life is. I think sometimes we just can't appreciate the sunshine until we haven't had any for a week. Sometimes we can't enjoy the sweetness of dessert until we have been on a strict diet for a while. We might not want to enjoy the break of day until we have been through a dark night of the soul. The air is out in our car right now and I can assure you that my family currently appreciates the ac indoors now more than ever, especially after anything longer than a 5 minute ride! In these last few months I have experienced some painful grief and now more than ever I am relishing my precious gifts, Mike, Lucy and Stinky Pete.

Sometimes life is sweeter after the contrast of pain.

Ecclesiastes 3 says this:

There is a time for everything,

and a season for every activity under heaven:

a time to be born and a time to die,

a time to plant and a time to uproot,

a time to kill and a time to heal,

a time to tear down and a time to build,

a time to weep and a time to laugh,

a time to mourn and a time to dance,

a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,

a time to embrace and a time to refrain,

a time to search and a time to give up,

a time to keep and a time to throw away,

a time to tear and a time to mend,

a time to be silent and a time to speak,

a time to love and a time to hate,

a time for war and a time for peace.

He has made everything beautiful in its time.

May you be able to enjoy how good the good is.