Fairy Tale
I recently had a friend cry, "I'm tired of waiting for my fairy tale!!! I don't understand! Why is life so hard? Why am I fighting so many giants? When will my 'happily ever after' appear?"
"Happily ever after." It's a phrase every girl grows up with. The fairy tale is something everyone dreams of. But as I started to think about it some more I came to this conclusion.
We are in a fairy tale. We just haven't reached the end of it. We're in the middle of it. And in the middle of fairy tales sometimes things look very grim for the hero and heroine.
It's the dark times, the giants, the horrible tests and trials that make fairy tales so gripping, and the happy ending so worth while. If life was a bed of roses from "Once upon a time" all the way through "happily ever after" the charm and the appeal of the story would be lost. There would be no love for the heroine if she was not expected to exhibit charm, poise, character, and growth. There would be no need for the knight in shining armor if there was no one to fight, no deep, dark villain to slay. Without the villains and the seemingly insurmountable obstacles, their love would become shallow and pointless. There would be no charm in their love, if there was no struggle to make it a reality.
Fairy tales aren't what we always paint them. Each hero and heroine has to go through a time in which the are wondering, "What's going on? Is anyone going to help me? Perhaps I'll never get out- perhaps this evil torture will triumph." Read them. I'm sure you'll agree. The darkness of their fate at that moment never really impacts us for this reason: we can see the end. We know it's a fairy tale and inevitably going to end with "happily ever after." We know the knight will win the maiden's hand, that the dragons will be chastened, and that, in the end, all the obstacles have only served to make their love more real.
In a very real sense God is the same way. We're in the middle of our fairy tales. There are dragons, villains, evil doers. If you're like this writer- you're all alone. You haven't found your fair maiden, or you're still waiting for your knight, and sometimes the trial you are in seems never ending. It goes on and on. Your giants are large, grim, and seemingly impossible barriers to your dreams ever coming true. What's more, these dragons are often not only in your surroundings, but inside you, and it takes every ounce of your strength to hold of those villains- your hope of ever triumphing, let alone finding your knight/princess, seems impossible But God is watching your fairy tale- what's more, He's writing it. He knows, even better than you do, the battles you are fighting. Your perfect someone? He has known them since the beginning of time. He can see the "happily ever after" coming.
"Happily ever after" is not the absence of problems, as we seem to think it is. (I do believe our heroes and heroines would get rather bored in that possibly bland state.) "Happily ever after" is rather the contentment, the happiness, the joy of knowing that the choices you made, the person you are with are all pleasing to God, and in line with His plans for your life. They could end the fairy tales with, "And that was the end of all their problems, they lived perfect harmony ever after." Happiness is not the absence of trouble. If you've lived any length of time, you'll be very well aware of that.
So, in response to my friend's cry I would merely say: "Yes, I'm right there with you. I'm in the middle of seemingly endless dark woods filled with indefatigable giants, dragons, and villains of all shapes and sizes. But this is my fairy tale. Perhaps someday I'll be joined by my knight in shining armor, as we're both battling our share of demons. And then we shall fight together- happily content that when "THE END" is written at the bottom of our story, and when we go to see the author- that he will say: "Well done."
Then, our true "They lived happily (sinlessly, joyously...) ever after" will begin.
"Happily ever after." It's a phrase every girl grows up with. The fairy tale is something everyone dreams of. But as I started to think about it some more I came to this conclusion.
We are in a fairy tale. We just haven't reached the end of it. We're in the middle of it. And in the middle of fairy tales sometimes things look very grim for the hero and heroine.
It's the dark times, the giants, the horrible tests and trials that make fairy tales so gripping, and the happy ending so worth while. If life was a bed of roses from "Once upon a time" all the way through "happily ever after" the charm and the appeal of the story would be lost. There would be no love for the heroine if she was not expected to exhibit charm, poise, character, and growth. There would be no need for the knight in shining armor if there was no one to fight, no deep, dark villain to slay. Without the villains and the seemingly insurmountable obstacles, their love would become shallow and pointless. There would be no charm in their love, if there was no struggle to make it a reality.
Fairy tales aren't what we always paint them. Each hero and heroine has to go through a time in which the are wondering, "What's going on? Is anyone going to help me? Perhaps I'll never get out- perhaps this evil torture will triumph." Read them. I'm sure you'll agree. The darkness of their fate at that moment never really impacts us for this reason: we can see the end. We know it's a fairy tale and inevitably going to end with "happily ever after." We know the knight will win the maiden's hand, that the dragons will be chastened, and that, in the end, all the obstacles have only served to make their love more real.
In a very real sense God is the same way. We're in the middle of our fairy tales. There are dragons, villains, evil doers. If you're like this writer- you're all alone. You haven't found your fair maiden, or you're still waiting for your knight, and sometimes the trial you are in seems never ending. It goes on and on. Your giants are large, grim, and seemingly impossible barriers to your dreams ever coming true. What's more, these dragons are often not only in your surroundings, but inside you, and it takes every ounce of your strength to hold of those villains- your hope of ever triumphing, let alone finding your knight/princess, seems impossible But God is watching your fairy tale- what's more, He's writing it. He knows, even better than you do, the battles you are fighting. Your perfect someone? He has known them since the beginning of time. He can see the "happily ever after" coming.
"Happily ever after" is not the absence of problems, as we seem to think it is. (I do believe our heroes and heroines would get rather bored in that possibly bland state.) "Happily ever after" is rather the contentment, the happiness, the joy of knowing that the choices you made, the person you are with are all pleasing to God, and in line with His plans for your life. They could end the fairy tales with, "And that was the end of all their problems, they lived perfect harmony ever after." Happiness is not the absence of trouble. If you've lived any length of time, you'll be very well aware of that.
So, in response to my friend's cry I would merely say: "Yes, I'm right there with you. I'm in the middle of seemingly endless dark woods filled with indefatigable giants, dragons, and villains of all shapes and sizes. But this is my fairy tale. Perhaps someday I'll be joined by my knight in shining armor, as we're both battling our share of demons. And then we shall fight together- happily content that when "THE END" is written at the bottom of our story, and when we go to see the author- that he will say: "Well done."
Then, our true "They lived happily (sinlessly, joyously...) ever after" will begin.
posted by COURTNEY at 8:49 AM
1 Comments:
... amen.
but on another note, what i've seen, which is probably nothing at all or maybe entirely too much...
so many people want that fairy tale ending NOW. i did. i hate to say it, but i was one of those girls that had that "happy ending disease" as though it were to be NOW. Gah, I have 60 more years to live. Maybe more~
-molly
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