Many years ago some of our family decided to take a trip to Disney World in Orlando, Florida. We went to all the theme parks we could experience in one day. While visiting the Magic Kingdom, I came up with the brilliant idea to ride Space Mountain. It seemed like a good idea to me at the time, besides our son Johnny, who had many special needs, had never experienced anything like that in his life, I bet He would really enjoy it, or so I thought.
My wife was not so sure, and try to talk me out of it. My other son, Jason agreed with me and so in the line we went!! As you stand in line waiting for your turn, there are many warning signs, informing you that you should not ride this ride if you have: a bad back, have heart issues…the type of things that Johnny had his share of. Again, Joann tried to talk me out of my plan.
Undaunted, I pressed forward, assuring her that everything was going to be fine. Johnny had no idea what this ride was all about, he just followed his Dad with his misplaced trust at that time. It came time for our turn to board the ride. I had Johnny in front of me so that I could ensure his safety, with Joann behind me, reluctantly on the ride herself. Off we went. It didn’t take long for me to realize, this may not have been one of my best ideas.
The ride is completely in the dark. Johnny was profoundly deaf, those two situations never mix well. The noises kind of give you an indication of what was going to happen, Johnny had no warning of what he was about to experience. Suddenly we were traveling at a very fast rate of speed, turning and twisting, up and down. In my mind, Johnny is having a blast!! I was sure he was smiling from ear to ear…well one thing that never entered into my mind was the fact that Johnny was wearing a wig!!! He had lost most of his hair at a young age through medications and, well, heredity, he was still very young and didn’t want to be bald.
There comes a point in the ride that your picture is taken and later you can by the link to get the picture. Our picture said a thousand words. I am holding on to Johnny with a big grin on my face, Johnny has his hand on his head holding on to his wig and his mouth is wide open, Joann is reaching over my shoulder also holding Johnny’s wig on his head.
Needless to say, when the ride was over, Jason and I were the only ones to say, “Wasn’t that great?” Joann only needed to give me the stare to let me know how she felt, and Johnny said he didn’t enjoy that at all. The Bible verse came to my mind…
Proverbs 22:3 A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself:
but the simple pass on, and are punished.
When you are about to make a decision, you need to consider all the input from others that will be impacted by your choices. The only other ride we went on the rest of the day was, It’s a Small World. Well, I guess the punishment fit the crime.