Happily Ever After?

Another one I wrote a while ago....

When I was growing up, one thing set the foundation for my thoughts; Happily Ever After. I was only 5 but I knew what I wanted... I wanted that Prince Charming to come and wisk me away to our happily ever after. I was envious of Ariel, Belle, and Cinderella. These princesses lived the good life and I wanted my story to unfold just as theirs did. What little girl didn't have that dream? What I didn't realize was that this thought process had contaminated my very being. My mind was constantly driven by the overwhelming urge for that perfect guy. In my mind, that would complete my story, and no matter what I walked through everything would be perfect. Stupid, right? Don't lie...you've wanted it...I just said it. But as I grew up I began to see my story unfolding completely different than I had hoped. I began to see how dissapointing this world could be, and I simply lost hope. In giving up my previous happily ever after dream though, I saw hope with something else. Jesus.

With the world sending us these mixed messages it's no wonder we're so messed up. It's so easy to lose focus of the things God has called us to do. In the world we live in (with sooo many distractions), it's a wonder we accomplish anything that furthers the Kingdom of God. Even knowing the call God has placed on my life, sometimes I can't seem to pull away from the madness and business my life has become accustomed to. I get so frustrated and overwhelmed with the way things are going that I start blaming God for not making my life less stressful. What I often fail to realize is that i'm in the spot i'm in by my own admission. By simply giving everything to God and spending the time I need to with Him, He heals my heart and allows me to release all the built up pressure I've accumulated from the stresses of the world. There's just something about resting in Gods peace... It's rejuvinating, stress free, and everything opposite of what I feel as I spend time in this world. It's amazing how much we make this world our home. I suppose it's because we've never known any different. We get to the point where we let the world in so much that we shut Jesus out. Maybe we do it intentionally, maybe not...but we still do it. Sometimes we try to see how close we can get to being a part of the world, taking part in carnal pleasures...and yet still walk with God. Jesus warned us long ago that we can't serve two masters, we can't live for both Him and the world. He has told us to seek Him first, above ALL else...and then he will give us the desires of our hearts. Unfortunately, we try to do it all backwards. Our mindset is more like "hey, let me do all the things in life I want to first, what can I do to make myself happy"... And then we try to cram God into whatever is left of ourselves. How is it that we've gotten to this point.

We all have things that divert our attention away from Christ. For me it was growing up under the false idea of happily ever after. Don't get me wrong...I'm most definitely not against relationships or people wanting to be in one.... because it can be a beautiful thing. I'm simply not ok with my life being centered around that one thing. Life is meant to be lived to the fullest. God has called each and every one of us to accomplish something amazing... He has a story written for us, and it's way more creative and dreamy than even Walt Disney could imagine.

What's keeping you away from the calling Gods placed on your life?