Monthly Archives: May 2011

Royalty

Like many Americans, I woke up at an ungodly hour to watch the Royal Wedding of Prince William to Miss Catherine Middleton.  You have to admit, the Brits have a way with ceremony – the beauty of the wedding chapel, the women’s hats, the regal carriages, and of course, the fairytale story of a woman, a commoner at that, finding true love in the arms of her prince.

The only thing that was missing as Prince William and Princess Kate sped away from Buckingham Palace in their gorgeous Aston-Martin was the standard, Hollywood ending:  Fade to Black: “And they lived happily ever after.”   THE END.

But real life often doesn’t work that way. We hope and dream but things don’t always turn out like we plan. We face trials, hard times, and we ask, “God, where are you in this story?”

He gave you manna to eat in the desert, something your fathers had never known, to humble and to test you so that in THE END it might go well with you. Deuteronomy 8:16

God’s path to “happily ever after”–to all going well with us–looks different than ours. But in all of it we can trust that He has our good in mind, that He knows where the story is going, that He will love us and keep us every step of the way.

Easy? Nope. But we aren’t all supposed to be Cinderella at the ball.  Rather we’re supposed to be the type of people that can face the cruel stepsisters and all that work without breaking.  That’s where character is built.

Something we do with a smile on our face the entire time? Not unless you’re as unconscious as Sleeping Beauty.  But adversity builds integrity into our hearts and makes us yearn more and more for our dashing Prince.

Worth it? Oh, yes, because one day our Prince will come.  And He will rescue us from all that is evil in this world.

Listen, sweet friend, as I take your heart by the hand and whisper these words…

Your story has a good ending. And it’s not over yet.