Performer in Disney’s Once Upon A Christmastime Parade
“And this parade… I think it was a tiny little gift from heaven.”
Talk about a dream come true. Ever since I was little, I dreamt about dancing at Disney. I knew the joy I felt walking down Main Street USA would be incomparable to the joy I’d feel dancing down it. And boy, was I right.
During my Disney College Program, I was blessed with the opportunity to dance in Walt Disney World’s Once Upon A Christmastime Parade. That casting call brought me to tears. So did my first time down the parade route. And so did my very last. This memory will be one that lives in my heart for the rest of my life.
This new chapter. Post graduation. A job of my dreams. A fresh start. A parade.
I learned what it is to dance again. I learned what it is to smile and talk when I can and remain silent when I cannot. I learned that I deserve to be seen. I am safe to be seen. And this parade… I think it was a tiny little gift from heaven. I think with an empathetic heart, God was with me in the brokenness of what dance had become for me, knowing what it would one day be. And in that little gift, He wrapped up restoration in a Disney-shaped box.
As tears flooded my eyes that first time I danced down Main Street, I knew He was smiling alongside me. I know He felt the same joy I felt. Because my heart had healed. I began anew. I relearned what it is to dance—to dance for joy and not for the world.
I may never do another parade again. I may never dance again for an audience after December 31st. But you know what? I think that’s ok. I know if I’m meant to perform, God will swing that door wide open. And if this parade was simply the way for God to place a little gift of healing in my hands, then that is more than I could have ever needed. Because it wasn’t truly the parade that was the gift. It was the healing it brought to my heart. I’m ok now. The storm has passed. I’m here in the sunshine, Jesus’s hand folded tightly in mine.
