Dollywood and the spring of laughter

So, I'm a gypsy and love to travel. I love Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge, and Dollywood. I think Dollywood is one of the most beautiful theme parks in our country. It isn't large (like Disney), but we can turn our kids loose and not worry about their every movement. The entertainment is superb. The food is quite nice and not outrageous.

Jonathan is the cautious one in the family...everyone knows that. All of the kids, EXCEPT for G., have taken after him in this regard. In a way, for an energetic, experimenter like me, it is a little frustrating. My oldest wouldn't go on a roller coaster with me until he was fifteen (happily, he enjoyed it and now, there's no stopping him). W. and B. followed suit, but W. was able to finally conquer her own preconceived fears this past weekend and B. did much better too. G? He was mad that he was to "wittle" for many of the big rides.

My dad wasn't (isn't) afraid of anything. He taught ALL of his kids that. If we wanted to swim, he just threw us in. If we wanted to ride a horse, he just stuck us on a horse. If we wanted to ride a bike, he put us on going down a hill. We were too little to be afraid.

Jonathan's mom (God bless her) was afraid of EVERYTHING. Fear. It is why she said she didn't like to do certain things like ride rides or horses or trams etc...She was afraid of giving up control and lacked confidence. She passed this on to her kids. How can you know you don't like something when you're really just too afraid to experience it? Jonathan is working on this area. He has come a long way.

In this picture, you will see a girl on the far left. Sitting next to her is her father. He rode EVERY ride with her. He didn't want her to miss ANYTHING. He spoke to her before the ride (explaining what was going to happen) and during the ride as well. His words described everything in tiny detail to her. It struck me that this is how our Lord wants us to trust Him. He doesn't want us to miss a beat and He will be right there explaining and loving, if we'll listen and jump on board with Him.

I will never forget her laughter and her obvious love of life. I will never forget the tenderness of her father experiencing everything with her. She was totally BLIND and totally unafraid to experience life.

To the right of the picture are B., W., and G. My kids knew what was going on and they immediately learned the lesson. Love life. Most fears are irrational and destroy our self esteem. I do not know the girl's name or her father's, but I want to thank them for teaching us all a lesson. That was the most unforgettable ride of the day!