Happily Ever

I’m happy from the inside out, and from the outside in, I’m firmly formed. You canceled my ticket to hell— that’s not my destination! — Psalm 16:9 (MSG)

Growing up, I dreamt about my “happily ever after” as much as anybody. I knew that one day my prince would come, and we’d ride off into the sunset on a white horse (and I’d be skinny and beautiful with glowing skin and perfect hair — come on, your dreams weren’t much different, were they?). I found my prince, and even though there was no sunset or white horse, things were pretty incredible. Happily ever after? Yes, please.

Then reality settled in, and I found myself face to face with bills and laundry and kids and a prince who sometimes wasn’t all that charming. I’m willing to bet reality slapped you in the face, too. Maybe you’re still dreaming about finding your prince. Maybe you already have and you’re wondering “Is this really all there is?”

“Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow.” Matthew 6:34 (MSG)

We all want a story with a happy ending, but somewhere along the way, we stop caring about what the story actually says — we just want the happy ending. What I’ve realized, though, is that we won’t have happy endings if we don’t live happy lives. We spend too much time focusing on the “after” rather than living — and enjoying — life (bottomless laundry baskets, busy husbands, and all).

The dictionary defines “ever” as continually, always. Think about it: how awesome would it be to live happily always? That’s not to say bad things won’t happen — rest assured, they will. It doesn’t even mean that we’ll always be happy, because we won’t. It’s simply time for us to start living, enjoying, appreciating our lives — just as they are at this very moment.

One of my favorite movies is Ever After with Drew Barrymore. It’s a typical Cinderella story, but at the very end, the narrator says: “While Cinderella and her prince did live happily ever after, the point is that they lived.”

I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of. — John 10:10 (MSG)

by Kendra Wisdom (view blog HERE)