My husband jokes all the time that I can literally turn anything into a sermon. We'll be halfway through a movie, and suddenly I'll pause it.
"Did you catch that?"
He just laughs because he knows what's coming.
I'll find a theme woven into a movie or a television show and somehow bring it back to Christ and the Gospel.
I can hear a random lyric on the radio, overhear a conversation at the grocery store, or watch my girls playing in the backyard, and somehow my brain starts connecting the dots back to Scripture.
I always laugh and tell him it's because the Bible tells us to always be ready.
2 Timothy 4:2 tells us to "Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season..."
Now, I don't think Paul was specifically talking about Disney movies. (Although how fun would that have been?)
But I do believe followers of Jesus should develop eyes that constantly recognize His fingerprints in the world around us.
So...
How does this connect to our Magic Wednesday?
Easy.
This is how I find God in Disney.
Honestly, it's much simpler than it sounds.
I just look for Him.
Years ago I heard a pastor preach a message about how Jesus was scandalous. He ate with sinners and tax collectors. He spoke with Samaritans. He welcomed children. He valued women. He continually crossed every cultural line people had built.
Near the end of his message he challenged everyone to spend the next week looking for hearts. Not metaphorical hearts. Actual heart shapes. Then the next Sunday he asked how many people had found.
The stories came pouring in.
People saw hearts in sidewalk cracks, in tree bark, in the clouds, in flowers, in coffee foam, on rocks, in spilled cereal, in random doodles, on the backs of trucks, in leaves...
Thousands of them.
Then he asked a simple question.
"Did all those hearts suddenly appear this week?"
Of course not.
They had always been there. People simply started noticing because they were intentionally looking.
I have never forgotten that lesson.
Because it's the same with God.
He's been at work all around us from the very beginning.
His beauty.
His creativity.
His grace.
His redemption.
His fingerprints are everywhere.
Sometimes we miss Him, not because He's absent, but because we aren't paying attention. When we begin looking with intentionality, we start seeing Him in places we never expected.
I see Him in Wyoming sunsets and Florida dreams.
I see Him in my daughters' laughter.
I see Him in bedtime prayers.
I see Him in answered prayers...and even in the ones I'm still waiting on.
And yes...
I see Him in Disney.
Not because Disney is perfect.
It isn't.
But because stories have a beautiful way of reflecting the greatest Story ever told.
When I watch Finding Nemo, I can't help but think about the relentless love of our Savior. Marlin crosses an ocean because he refuses to stop searching for his son. It reminds me of Luke 15, where Jesus tells us about the Shepherd who leaves the ninety nine to pursue the one.
When I watch Lilo & Stitch, I'm reminded that every person longs to belong.
"Ohana means family. Family means nobody gets left behind or forgotten."
What a beautiful reminder of the family of God, where every person has value, every person has a place, and no one is beyond His love.
When I watch The Lion King, I think about identity.
Simba spends years believing lies about who he is because of shame and guilt. It isn't until he remembers whose he is that he finds the courage to step into his calling.
How many of us need that reminder? The enemy loves to define us by our failures, but God calls us sons and daughters.
When I watch Frozen, I think about sacrificial love.
The act that finally breaks the curse isn't romantic love at all.
It's a sister willingly laying down her life for another.
Jesus told us that there is no greater love than to lay down your life for your friends (John 15:13). Every act of selfless love points us toward the One who laid down His life for all of us.
When I watch Encanto, I see a family carrying impossible expectations, hidden hurts, and silent burdens. Yet healing begins when people stop pretending everything is fine and start bringing what's broken into the light.
Isn't that exactly what Jesus invites us to do?
We don't have to have it all together before coming to Him.
When I watch Moana, I think about calling.
Everyone around her tells her to stay where it's safe. But she knows there's something stirring inside her that she can't ignore.
Following God's calling isn't always easy. Sometimes it means stepping into unknown waters, trusting that He'll make a way where you can't yet see one.
When I watch Beauty and the Beast, I'm reminded that grace sees beyond appearances.
The world judges by what it can see.
God looks at the heart.
When I watch The Princess and the Frog, I think about how hard work matters, but dreams alone aren't enough. Tiana works tirelessly, yet along the way she discovers that purpose is about more than achieving a goal, it's about becoming the person God created you to be and allowing others to walk that journey with you.
And maybe that's why I love Disney so much.
Not because every story is perfect.
Not because every lesson is biblical.
But because every good story whispers something our hearts already know.
We were made for redemption.
We long for hope.
We celebrate sacrifice.
We cheer when broken things are restored.
We love stories where darkness doesn't get the final word.
And every one of those longings finds its fulfillment in Jesus.
So the next time you watch a Disney movie with your kids, or maybe even by yourself, try something.
Ask yourself,
"Where do I see a glimpse of God's character here?"
You might be surprised by what you find.
After all...
When you're looking for Him...
You start seeing Him everywhere.
XOXO Whitney