There are stories we are told as children. Stories of Queens and Kings, princes and princesses, witches and fairies, heroes and villains. These stories all have happy endings, the bad guy always loses and the princess always finds her prince. The evil step mom gets what she deserves and love always overcomes. These stories are loved by children all over the world. Our sons grow up wanting to be just like the hero, saving the princess and slaying the dragon. Our daughters all think they are princesses and spend their lives looking for their prince. They dream of the big day that they will get to wear the beautiful dress, all eyes will be on her as she is swept away by her prince charming. There will be dancing and laughter and at the end of the night they will ride away into their happy ending.
But what comes next?
All the planning just made for the happy ending, there wasn’t any plans made for after the honeymoon when life hits and new villains arise. There isn’t a story that tells you how to fight when you become the evil step-mom, when you’re the villain in the eyes of the new princess, and vice versa. How do you navigate the not so happily ever after? I think I found the answer in a nugget of wisdom a friend recently gave me. “Write a list of the good that happens everyday and read it when the days are hard.” There it is, so many times we sit and read fairy tales of happy endings, or unrealistic relationships and they leave us wanting something that is not attainable. We lean on the Disney versions of the Brothers Grimm tales and forget the gruesome story lines were created to frighten children into listening to their parents. In the process we create in our minds what family looks like and if we don’t have it then we have failed at our happy ending. Well I no longer want to live in a fairy tale family. I want to embrace the one I have. The one that has a different story written all over it. In this story there is only one hero and one villain, in this story I neither have to carry the burden of being the hero nor fear of the villain. I don’t have to guess who either is. I know my hero, I know the villain, and I know the way the story ends. Now I just need to navigate the chapters of this story and pick out the victories as they get mixed with what seems like defeats. This all starts with looking at my family and seeing the normal in the abnormal.
In this picture you might see a mom and dad with their sons and daughter, their spouses and kids. You would be right in a way. I see this picture of my mother-in-love standing next to her amazing husband. I see her surrounded by her two sons and her daughter with their spouses, with all their children above them as if they have always been together. Strong in the understanding that family is safety. This would be a fairy tale looking family photo if I ever saw one.
In this family we see a first-born prince and his princess who have survived the threats of those around them even when they invited those that would try to hurt them into their lives embracing their wonderfully made children. 
Followed by the youngest and dearly loved prince and his princess who met in a far off land where both their long journey’s took them and they are there with their little knights.
I see a daughter that found her
knight in shining armor, who saved her from herself and her dragon by showing her that true love comes when you think you could never love again and they are surrounded by their princes and beautiful little princess.
Wait, did you catch it? The little knights and princes are one in the same, so how do brother and sister share them? Because their father is not of this world but rather the creator of this world. Here in this fairy tale family we have two brothers and a sister-in-love turned daughter. Here we see redemption in a story that would have ended with death and despair if our Father hadn’t stepped in, here in our land we know the meaning of family is forever because even into eternity we will see each other and we want what is best for our children rather than our own comfort. So, we have this as a result.
Two people brought together in youth and pulled apart by the evils that await all of us in this world. Theirs is a story that has an ending hand written by the Father above. Because of the author being who He is we were able to celebrate together as a family the best Thanksgiving of all time. We shared laughter, joy that we were all here, alive, and claimed by the God that created us to be family. This picture drawn by my sweet brother-in-love and his beautiful wife together with my sweet seester and her adoring husband was used to show the children who have been hurt by family being ripped apart by the villain of this world that love does indeed overcome, true love that pours out of the Fathers heart to ours.
So maybe fairy tales do exist, maybe they are real. There might just be real life princes and princesses, a place where step moms are just as beautiful and magical as fairy Godmothers and happy endings are ever-changing. Yes, we can create our own happy endings, family is what you make it, and the only villain that exists has already lost. My family needs constant reminders that we are walking our happily ever after and so I write……………
soshewritesweb 