I'm going to go back there someday

This week I got to hear a new cover of an old song called “I’m going to go back there some day.” The song is not about Disney World, but for me it has come to represent that because it’s a place with such great importance to me. I now live much farther away than I used to, and so I spend much of my time wishing I could be planning a trip back there.

One song lyric that has impacted me and my love of Walt Disney World is the line “you can just visit, but I plan to stay.” This line has guided much of how I live and what I do when away from “home” because it has emphasized to me that even if I’m not in Disney World, I can still celebrate a place and a feeling that I love so much. I surround myself with things that bring up memories. I use technology to take me to a place I can’t be physically. And I use the things that make Walt Disney World great, the philosophies that make it so special to me, in my everyday life. But the most important thing is that while I can’t be there now, it’s helpful to know that I’m going to go back there someday. I don’t always know when (or how I’m going to afford it) but I do know that someday we will find our way back to our special place.

Our relationship with God works a little like that. We don’t always find ourselves overcome with deep love for Him. It can’t all be mountaintops. But we can know that if we faithfully serve Him in the valley, we’re going to go back there someday. And in the meantime, we can make each step of the journey about growing instead of getting to that final destination. It’s that same philosophy of “I plan to stay” that says “I’m going to make each day count, not just Sunday morning when the worship is good and the preacher hits a home run.” It means each day I make it a point to grow and learn and pray a little more than the day before so that I can make my faith a journey and not a destination.