Cutting the Line

The line wasn’t really that long by normal Disneyland standards.  Some days (during the summer), your wait for a ride can be up to 90 minutes!  We opted for a Disney experience in September, just after the crowds had left and everyone was back in school.  The weather wasn’t crazy hot and the lines never lasted more than 30 minutes on a busy day.

We were waiting patiently in the Star Tours line when the teenage son of the family behind us said to one of his siblings, “We could just get in the Fast Pass line right now and get up to the front.  They don’t even check once you’re past the entrance.”  And off him and his siblings went.  His father waited for a brief moment, looked around, hopped the rope, and looked sheepishly at us as he walked past and up to the front of the Fast Pass line with his children.

It was the topic of discussion among my family for the next 10 minutes as we waited to reach the front.  We talked about the examples that we set for our children and others around us.  We talked about fairness to people.  It was actually a great conversation between myself, Peyton, and her dad.

We got to the front of the line and entered the ride.  The ride seats 40 people in total, and the three of us sat in the front row.  I looked around and who did I see?  The family that had cut in the line.  Their attempt to get there faster had somehow ended up being all for naught.  Nice or not, we had a good little giggle about that.

Of all the lessons I learned from that one little experience, this was the most profound to me:  we can try and fast track our future by skipping the line we’re supposed to be in, but the full wait may be part of the journey.  We trust God has such a wonderful plan for our lives, but we try to control it by getting there faster, quicker sometimes at the expense of the experience.

The people we meet along the way may be the ones who need to know Jesus.  The extended wait times could just be the period of growth that you need to mature for the next season of your life.  The bumps we encounter are the opportunities to serve others rather than self.

God knows what He’s doing in your life.  You don’t need to skip the line to get to the destination.  Let’s see what exciting adventure He has for us along the way!

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” -Jeremiah 29:11

~Erin