Ever since I was young, I believed in the idea of a fairy tale love waiting for me at the end of the rainbow
This may sound funny, but I picked this up from the Bible, and all the Disney stories I read as a child, as the Bible talks about the promise of living forever in heaven, while Disney stories talk about living happily ever after with someone while here on earth
(Stay with me, this will make sense)
However, the thing I did not find in Disney stories, but found in the Bible, were situations that were the equivalent of Aurora (Sleeping Beauty) and Cinderella chasing after numerous men while waiting for the love of their life, and stories like Prince Charming wooing other married women just because he was a prince
No, I am pretty sure no Disney
Prince Charming: Wandering Eyes And Heart
In the Bible, people do awful things but, after repenting, are forgiven and life goes on
In fact, these woeful deeds become God’s glory because it means he healed someone so that they overcame their sins, how awesome!
However, in the case of Disney’s love, imagine how the story would change if Prince Charming came home to the castle one day and gave Cinderella some disease because he had been hanging out at Ye Olde Brothel?
Okay okay, that is a bit extreme, but what if it was something less crazy, like Prince Charming stealing glances at other women while dancing with Cinderella on their first date or what if he started threatening to dump her if she didn’t do what he said all the time?
If this really happened, our fantasy of this romantic story would be shattered forever and there would be no looking back
However, God’s love teaches us to see people for who they really are, not for who we idolize them to be in our minds
The world’s version of ideal love however, revolves around something that belongs much more in the realm of fantasy as it is either completely unattainable in the first place or it is unsustainable except for brief periods in the land of make believe, ie: projections of “the perfect person” when we meet someone new
Perfection Is A State Of Mind, Not A State Of Being
The beautiful thing about God’s love is that it allows people to be “perfect” but still have flaws, and it teaches that we can love people with freedom and not worry about having our perception of them destroyed, because once a fantasy bubble pops, there is no turning back
I have learned that God is willing to forgive us when we are truly sorry and leave our old ways behind, and he does not hold our sins against us when we stay away from them for good
This is amazing because it allows us to return to a state as if we never did anything wrong in the first place!
However, if someone breaks the trust of their partner by cheating on them or doing something totally inappropriate, then there is often no way to return to that original happy state because the wound can run too deep or the road to recovery can take a very long time
This can result in the wound never healing over
But I Want The Story Book Ending!
In the end, no matter what happens, it is important to look at people for who they really are as no fantasy can be maintained for a significant length of time
The truth is, there is only one story book ending available to any of us, and that is living happily ever after with God in heaven!
Take that, Disney
Add Comment