The Fast Pass

In the Magic Kingdom at Disney World the powers that be have come up with an idea that will help shorten your wait in the long lines for the different rides. It is called the "Fast Pass." It's like a Short Cut!

Here's how it works...
Let's say you walk up to the roller coaster ride called "Space Mountain" at 11:00 a.m. and you see that it is going to be a 110 minute wait. You think to yourself, "I don't want to wait 110 minutes." You look over to the "Fast Pass" kiosk and see that you can get a "Fast Pass" for Space Mountain and bypass the 110 minute wait... but you have to come back and ride "Space Mountain" between 2:20 and 3:20 pm. 

You decide to get the Fast Pass. At 3:00 pm with 20 minutes to spare you enter the Fast Pass lane and ride Space Mountain with only about a 15 minute wait. Not a bad trade off at all. Had you not come back at the allotted time you would not be able to go through the Fast Pass lane.

My iWitness...

This is an ingenious idea... at first glance.

Yes, you get to ride the ride of your choice with a minimal wait in line. Thus freeing up more time to enjoy the  Magic Kingdom.

Here's what I discovered. Once I obtained the Fast Pass my whole day and mindset revolved around the "return" time. What I thought would free me up actually enslaved me. I became obsessed with the time, the hour, the minutes and the distance I would have to travel across the Magic Kingdom in order to make it to the ride on time.

There were times that I bypassed a ride or an attraction because I didn't know if I would get out quick enough to make it to my "Fast Pass" ride in the time frame that I was given. As mentioned above, if I don't make it to the ride within the specific hour given then I miss out completely.

All that to say, I became so focused on the "Fast Pass" that I missed out on other things along the way. I missed out on other attractions. I missed out on casual conversations. I missed out on taking in the full Disney experience and the Disney surroundings and "smelling the roses" because the destination became more important than the journey.

Many times, we as Christians are so excited that we have a "Fast Pass" to heaven with our trust and belief in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. The trap is troubling... if we are not careful we focus so much on the destination that we miss out on the journey.

And for some of us the greatest lessons we have learned in life have come through "waiting on the Lord."

Short cuts have no place in this great roller coaster ride called "Life!"

"...but they who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength;
     they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
     they shall walk and not faint." (Isaiah 40. 31)

And that's my iWitness
Laugh often and Fear not!
David!