Why this Theme Park Makes Me Cry

Posted: 5 years ago

Why this Theme Park Makes Me Cry

I’m laughing in this picture but minutes later I was crying. The interviewer asked me how this place made me feel and I lost it.

The moment I walked in the gates, I had chills run up and down my arms despite the thermostat reading 90.

How do you convey after years of pondering, wrestling and schooling, you feel as if God is tapping you on the shoulder, alerting you with a gentle whisper, “This is it.”

This place, a place designed for those with disabilities and made for all, is how I believe the next life will be.

After the interview, we went to a puppet show. One mom fed her child through a tube, another child with a cognitive difference waved his hands with glee, and my child with Down syndrome tried to join the performance more than once. There were no disapproving eyes, only understanding, only love.

People often talk about heaven as being a place where we will be made whole. But if we believe in the incarnation, we are already complete.

I think the difference will be our hearts will no longer be swayed by darkness. We will see each other more clearly, love ourselves and one another more wholly.

Everyone will belong. Everyone will be welcome just as they are. We will see God’s handiwork as being intentionally diverse, and we will see it for the beauty it is instead of assuming it is a less than design.

My hope is that we won’t wait for death to start making this shift. My hope is that places like Morgan’s Wonderland will inspire all of us to tap into the wholeness of humanity. My hope is that once we leave its gates and others like it, we pursue more inclusive tables inside our homes and schools and churches and workplaces.

I always cry here because I see what the world could be and a snapshot of the heaven that awaits.

Jillian Benfield

I used to be a resurrection person

I used to be a resurrection person. I used to want to skip over the messiness of holy week—the betrayal, the trial, the torture. I

Glass art Marriages

My husband and I have been through hell and back. More than once. We were broken for a time, yes. But instead of staying that

You have permission to live at a different pace than what was once required of you

I wonder if you’re someone who has lived life as if it were an emergency…because it was. Perhaps you’re like me and walked the halls

why i wouldn’t takeaway the pain of my past

“If you could go back and take it away- would you?” My husband asked me this question over a fancy dinner this past weekend. After

Speaker Inquiries & Requests

For all media inquiries, please contact

The Gift of the Unexpected

What if the unexpected is the beginning of becoming your truest self?

Jillian Benfield was living life in the spotlight as a TV journalist, but after receiving a life-altering diagnosis for her unborn son, she realized no camera-ready outfit could dress up her grief. Overcoming this unexpected circumstance wasn’t an option. She would have to undergo it instead. In doing so, she discovered who she was and who God wanted her to become.

In this riveting story filled with grit and grace, Jillian helps you break down the false constructs you’ve built around God and your identity. You won’t avoid your pain, but you’ll learn to feel it, in a healing way. And you’ll discover how your internal transformation leads to external purpose.

No matter what you’re going through, you’re invited to open this gift: The Gift of the Unexpected

The book is available on