And They Lived Happily Ever After

My favorite fairy tale is still “Cinderella”. The prince falls in loves with Cinderella. He searches the kingdom for her and slides the glass slipper on her foot like an engagement ring. Next comes the story ending: “And they lived happily ever after.”

NOT! Sweet imagination, but NOT reality. It's not how real life stories go. All you have to do is fast-forward to a year later and Prince Charming is no longer charming. In fact, he’s become somewhat boring, leaves his underwear on the floor, the stool lid up, doesn’t put a new toilet paper roll on OR puts it on backward, watches way too many sports shows, belches out loud and, to make matters worse….he snores like a buzz-saw! And, on top of that, he gets upset that Cinderella is overspending on more shoes, she gets so emotional at the drop of a pin and spends way too much time on the phone with her mother and friends. How’s that for a reality check to our fantasy dreams?

Marriages come with a lot of grandiose expectations. I’ll never forget receiving the phone call from my emotional and in-tears daughter just days after her marriage when her husband's underwear was all pink after washing them with a red sheet. A little consoling and directions for returning them to their original color resolved that reality check, but the up and down moments still ensued – as with all marriages. Of course, we all want the fairy tale—the happily ever after. And, with the right emphasis and getting our love priorities in the right order, it can happen.

From firsthand experience I can tell you, true love may falter, but it still survives. When we break, and we do, we pick up the pieces and fit them together again. No, the pieces may not fit together now exactly the same way as they did in the wedding pictures, but we fit together in a new way, a way that that holds us together even more strongly than ever. Trust me on that!

Sometimes we put too much emphasis on what’s wrong instead of what's RIGHT! Best. News. Ever. We DO have the perfect spouse. His name is Jesus, and one day we’ll be in heaven with Him for our happily-ever-after story. No human relationship can completely fulfill our need for love. When those we love fall short, it’s a signal to our souls to turn to Jesus.

Over and over, scripture describes God’s people as a bride with words like these: “As a bridegroom rejoices over His bride, so will your God rejoice over you” (Isaiah 62:5). This is what’s truer than a fairy tale for us during this month of love and tomorrow, Valentine’s Day: We’re loved beyond what we can even imagine. Whether we are single or married, whatever may have happened in our romantic relationships, even if we feel alone sometimes… we are the beloved bride of the perfect Husband. And there’s still a "happily ever after" in our future. It’s true for those of us who have made Him Lord of all…we will live happily ever after. Not, THE END, but THE BEGINNING of forever.