The Greatest “Once-Upon-A Time” Love Story Ever

Don’t you love that start to a movie or a story because you just know there's going to be a happy ending at the end. I love thinking about my own “Once upon a time” love story, but no love story compares to this beginning…..

Once upon a tree…..a Creator gave His life for His creation. From the very beginning of time…..this true story began….but there was never, and there will never be a “The End”, to this story. It took our Creator stepping up to give His life for His creation so that all of man’s mistakes from the beginning of time, could have a happy EVER AFTER!

Every one of us are writing our stories by the way we live our lives each day. No, we don't have to have a "Once upon a tree"....story, because God lived that story once and for all for all of us. Some of our stories may seem ho-hum, while other stories may be adventures-of-a-lifetime every day, but we can choose how our story reads out. Maybe one of these beginnings would look good in your story:

Once upon a phone…..a devoted follower of Christ shared encouragement and love with his friend, and the friend met the Creator through him. It was a happy-ever-after phone story.

Once upon a greeting card….. there was someone who was hurting so much, but she realized someone else was hurting more than she was, so she shared the faithfulness of God in her card, and they both received renewed strength for their journeys of faith.

Once upon a car…..someone’s friend needed a ride to their doctor, so the driver became a chauffeur for God that showed what “mercy” looks like.

Once upon a dollar…..a kind-hearted soul, gave that dollar, and a hug, to a blind man holding a tin cup.

Once upon a rope…..someone tossed the end to a drowning man and saved their life. That day, the rope and the rope-thrower became a life-saver.

Once upon an altar…..someone gave their time to pray for someone who needed a Savior.

And that brings us right back to the very beginning of the “Once upon the beginning of time” story that has no ending, because in each of those scenarios the answer came with Jesus’ words to Peter “Peter do you love me? Then, feed my lambs. Peter do you love me? Feed my sheep.” And those words to Peter are Jesus’ words to us. “Do you love me? Love and care for my sheep.”

God started it all. He gave His one and only Son’s life for those who come to know Him as Lord. He asks us to be a part of His never ending story. Maybe we are the answer to someone’s prayers and, of course, we are the answer to sharing God’s story enough to give those He loves a never-ending story of their own.

In between the “Once upon a time” and the “happy ever after”…..there’s a whole lotta living going on – living to love and serve others, loving enough to be a light that draws them to the cross where our Savior died and to the empty tomb where He no longer lives, but is seated at the Father’s right hand, interceding and welcoming us to our HAPPY EVER AFTER with Him.

Once upon a Facebook post, someone told this story with the great expectation that God’s story begins in YOU and me!

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him, would not perish but have everlasting life." John 3:16

My First Line of Defense

Part of my training at Children's Hospital included knowing the “first line of defense” in case of fire or other emergencies. Knowing where the fire pulls and extinguishers are, as well as knowing the color codes and alerts in case of security issues.

In my personal life, I’ve also come to learn my absolute first line of defense when I’m faced with words that shake me to my core. I’ve heard: “Your daughter is diagnosed with cystic fibrosis!“ “Our house is on fire!” “Your mother only has hours to live!” “He was in a car accident!” "Your husband has Stage 4 cancer!” I wish that my first line of defense in all those instances had been “I will not be afraid. I believe that God has me and He will work all things for good!”

A great lesson came from one of my favorite Bible stories from Mark 5:35-36. It speaks of Jairus, a synagogue leader, who came to Jesus begging him to go with him to heal his daughter who was dying. As Jesus was going with him, some people from Jairus' house came saying “Your daughter is dead. Why bother the teacher any more?” Here’s my favorite line (the first line of defense) from Jesus to Jairus when He overheard their words: “Don’t be afraid; just believe.” I can even visualize that setting -- Jesus putting one hand up (“STOP -- don’t think!”) and the other hand with a finger up to his lips (“Shush -- don’t speak!”)

“Why bother?” Isn’t that what the naysayers and doubters say and isn’t that what the enemy of our souls wants us to say? It’s the whisper we hear when the bad news comes. "Give up. It’s Hopeless. I’m afraid. I can’t take this. I can't handle it alone."

Two little words change everything. “But Jesus.” He has a different message, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.” Don’t give up or let go of hope. Jesus is the Giver of life and it’s not finished until He says so. He took her by the hand and said: "Little girl, I say to you, get up!”. The girl stood up and began to walk around” (Mark 5:41-42).

Above, I quoted lines from “my story”. “Your daughter has cystic fibrosis!“ But Jesus -- that little girl was dramatically healed, has a 5-½ octave vocal range and daily lives to give the good news of Jesus. “Our house is on fire!” But Jesus -- those were words our daughter cried out to us when their home was burning. They were all safe, their insurance more than covered their losses, and rebuilt the home and have shared God's goodness to others. “Your mother only has hours to live!” But Jesus -- Mom recovered and lived a full life for another eight years. “He was in a car accident!” But Jesus -- our son survived what could have easily been a fatal car crash. “Your husband has Stage 4 cancer!” But Jesus -- gave him and me such peace that passed understanding throughout the journey, and he WAS healed when he graduated to heaven.

Jairus’ “little girl” was his “But Jesus” moment. What is your “little girl” today? What is your first line of defense when those riveting times come? My first line of defense is Jesus’ words “Do not be afraid. Only believe.” It's not over until He says "It's over!"

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.

Once Upon a Time.......

I love that start to a story because you just know there's going to be a happy ending at the end. But I love this beginning even more.....

Once upon a tree…..a Creator gave His life for His creation. From the very beginning of time…..this true story began….but there was never, and there will never be a “The End”, to this story. It took our Creator stepping up to give His life for His creation so that all of man’s mistakes from the beginning of time, could have a happy EVER AFTER!

Every one of us are writing our stories by the way we live our lives each day. No, we don't have to have a "Once upon a tree"....story, because God lived that story once and for all for us. Some of our stories may seem ho-hum, while other stories may be adventures-of-a-lifetime every day, but we can choose how our story reads out. Maybe one of these beginnings would look good in your story:

Once upon a phone…..a devoted follower of Christ shared encouragement and love with his friend, and the friend met the Creator through him.

Once upon a greeting card…..there was someone who was hurting so much, but she realized someone else was hurting more than she was, so she shared the faithfulness of God in her card, and they both received renewed strength for their journeys of faith.

Once upon a car…..someone’s friend needed a ride to their doctor, so the driver became a chauffeur for God that showed what “mercy” looks like.

Once upon a dollar…..a kind-hearted soul, gave that dollar, and a hug, to a blind man holding a tin cup.

Once upon a rope…..someone tossed the end to a drowning man and saved their life. That day, the rope and the rope-thrower became life-savers.

Once upon an altar…..someone gave their time to pray for someone who needed a Savior.

And that brings us right back to the very beginning of the “Once upon the beginning of time” story that has no ending, because in each of those scenarios the answer came with Jesus’ words to Peter “Peter do you love me? Then, feed my lambs. Peter do you love me? Feed my sheep.” (John 21:15) And those words to Peter are the words to us. God started it all and through His Son gave His life for those who come to know Him as Lord. He asks us to be a part of His never ending story. Maybe we are the answer to someone’s prayers and, of course, we are the answer to sharing God’s story enough to give those He loves a never-ending story of their own.

Once upon a Facebook post, someone told this story with the great expectation that God’s story begins in YOU!

"For God so loved the world, that He gave his only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16)

“THE END -- And They Lived Happily Ever After”

That’s the big finale of most Disney movies and so it was for us. Our Disney journey came to an end last night, and of course we will live happily ever after….well, once we cross over to heaven, that is. But for now, we’ll carry so many precious memories from 10 years ago (yesterday morning we watched those photos and “remembered” together).

Then we made our way to the water park for a relaxing, fun, and “wet” morning. Then off to our final Disney adventure at Hollywood Studios again. It was my favorite day because we were able to get to do “do-overs” or our favorite rides with Fast Passes, watched several shows -- Indiana Jones movie set and stunt actors performing, Beauty and the Beast and the grand finale was Fantasmic. Waiting for Fantasmic to begin, I had just said to Staci “I need inspiration for my post for tomorrow”, and then the show began. My inspiration came immediately. A mountain-set surrounded by a water lagoon was a great backdrop for Mickey Mouse and his magical laser light show where the forces of good and evil were battling it out in Mickey’s dream. We saw Disney heroes, princesses and lots of villains from many of Disney’s best: Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella, The Lion King, 101 Dalmatians and many others. But when the Evil Queen from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs with Cruella de Vil, and a larger-than-life Maleficent turned Mickey's dreams into a nightmare, Mickey and his ability to overcome evil with his good saved the day again. The add on of pyrotechnics, laser lights and lots of dancing water made the dream come to life. Lots of Disney tunes were heard.

While Disney has taken a lot of hits because of what people see as underlying hidden messages and controversial storylines in their films, we still can see their efforts to make us become better people who believe that good always wins over evil. Kids today still love watching the Disney movies that we all loved when we were kids. I even found myself getting goosebumps when the Beast turned back into the prince as we watched the show yesterday. The Beast learned to love instead of being the conceited, hateful monster that he once was. How's that for a love story?

Here’s my take-aways from our Disney adventures:
~ Family time equals special and intentional “I love you so much that I want to spend time with you and celebrate you.”
~ Always remember that you are absolutely unique.
~ Never lose that childlike spirit, no matter what age you are, or what your circumstances might be.
~ Always learn and discover new things, new horizons, be open and ready for new adventures and new experiences.
~ Never let others’ negative thoughts affect your life.
~ Never give up on your goals. Do your best and work hard to achieve your dreams and potentials.
~ Life can be hard sometimes. We all know that. However, the message Disney sends us is not about despair, it’s that there’s a light at the end of every tunnel. It often appears when we least expect it. And, in those of us who believe in THE LIGHT -- we can ALWAYS expect Him to show up for us!
~ Never stop dreaming and give your best to everything you set your heart and mind to do!

In the “Mickey/Disney” world it’s “Never stop believing in magic.” But, I like to say it this way “Never stop believing in a God in Whom ALL things are possible. And in His grand scheme of things…. “Good not only overcomes evil, but it is so good, that we will get to live happily ever after with the Prince of Peace who was willing to give His ALL for you and me.” That's a true LOVE story that never says THE END!