Truth About Fairy Tales

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“Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.” John 3:20-21

Have you ever wondered why the Cinderella story keeps haunting us? Not only is it a perennial favorite of little girls, it haunts us as woman. Think of all the movies made along its themes, movies like Pretty Woman and Ever After and A Cinderella Story and Maid in Manhattan. Why is this notion of a hidden princess so enduring? Is there something in our hearts that is trying to speak to us? Is it just fantasy, escapism? Or is there something more?

The desire of a woman's heart and the realities of a woman's life seem an ocean apart. O, we long for romance and an irreplaceable role in a great story, we long for beauty. But that's not the life we have. The result is a sense of shame. Universally women struggle with their self worth. "I feel like a household appliance," one woman confessed to us. I have to agree.  For years, I ran from beauty and romance.  Lying to myself and others proclaiming 'I'm not the typical girl.'  The truth is I am like most girls.  We want to feel like a priority.  To feel beautiful especially in the eyes of a real man willing to fight for our hearts.  This is not to say we should strive to live for a man or we are nothing without men.  It goes deeper than that.  It is like putting the final piece of the puzzle in place.  You already know what the picture is but its final piece makes it a masterpiece with no question of what or whom it is.

A woman's struggle with her sense of worth points to something glorious she was designed to be. The great emptiness we feel points to the great place we were created for. It's true. All those legends and fairy tales of the undiscovered Princess and the Beauty hidden as a maid are more accurate than we thought. There's a reason little girls resonate with them so.  The part that strikes me in today's society is how afraid people are to love or to acknowledge they are worthy of love.  Most people seem to take advantage of those that love unconditionally and others put on a mask that looks like love; tricking even the most intuitive person into believing their false pretenses are genuine.  I suppose that is why us 'lovers' finish last.  It takes the right kind of person to see the hidden Beauty and bring out the Princess in us all.

(Captivating, 21-22)

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