If we’re all honest with ourselves…we all wanted the fairytale. I can remember watching Cinderella when I was a little girl just filled with giddy excitement thinking of my very own Prince Charming coming to rescue me so I could live happily ever after. Something extraordinary happened this past Friday night. Our own little princess had her darling little best friend over and we had a girls night and watched the movie Enchanted. As I was watching the movie I was filled with the same giddy excitement because God revealed to me something…He gave me something even better than a fairytale!
Of course, in the thick of all the baggage of life I would not have always described my life as a fairytale…but then…would Cinderella have done so when she was under the duress of her evil stepmother? How about Belle when she was under the imprisonment of the Beast? What about Ariel when she was with her prince but was unable to tell him who she really was? I had my own painful struggles and in the thick of them…I couldn’t see the happily ever after. I had my Prince Charming helping me through all along and Someone even better than a fairy godmother who was carrying me the whole time. All the while I had the idea of perfection in my head. I couldn’t see the silver lining when all the while God had something even better in mind.
You see for me, I was carrying the baggage of perfection…a life unbroken…a world without pain and God blew the doors off of my dream with His reality…His plan for my life. Three babies in His time…an amazing, loving partner to travel through the valley all leading to the mountaintops of pure joy. But I couldn’t reach those mountaintops carrying the burdens of my life…of my past…of my fears and anxieties and stresses. I had to let them go. I had to give it up.
This entire year which started with doing the unthinkable and telling my deepest, darkest secrets was the start of a perpetual state of surrender. Opening up and sharing my heart was the first step in God healing me spiritually and emotionally and helping me to live fully in Him. In that one act of obedience and thereafter slowly giving up my plans, my desires, my habits, my fears and anxieties do you know what has happened? I am free. Surrendering hasn’t been drudgery…it has actually been joyful. Friday night when God showed me His glimpse of His hope, joy, peace and love I about jumped up and down in excitement. All that I had hoped for…He supassed it all with not a fairytale…not a happy ending…SO much more…because with Him…this life is eternal. With perpetual surrender comes a real, true happily ever after…not just words on a page. God leads me with so much more than a fictitious feel-good story…but His living, breathing Word that guides my path each day. He gave me a presence much greater than a fairy godmother who shows up only when all hope is lost…His Spirit lives in me constantly and shines His light in my heart.
I can’t tell you the joy that comes from perpetual surrender. Giving it all up instead of carrying around burdens and baggage. It’s a continual taking everything to Jesus feet and asking Him to carry it for me. And the most amazing thing happens…I am free. I have to remind myself sometimes not to keep taking it back…and sometimes He has to remind me of that. He has to remind me that what He has planned is far greater than I could ever dream. And many times I must open my heart and ask others for help…no easy feat for a perfectionist who wants to have it all together.
No matter what our question, He is the answer. No matter what our hurt, He is our healer. No matter what our circumstances, He bring us peace. He wants to hear from you. It could be a relationship, an illness, a circumstance, a storm, a trial, a stress, a worry, guilt, fear, your past, your present, your future…won’t you just give it up? Break free! Let the Lord fill you with something greater than a fairytale…something so much better than a happy ending. Let Him show you true joy that comes from simply letting go and trusting Him. Don’t just dream of a happily ever after…give it up…nail it to the cross…and live something even better!
Wonders of HIS Love 