Fairy Tales

"Once upon a time..."

These words are almost as dangerous to the older female sect as they are fascinating to the younger.

When you're three, the words excite you.  You know that a story is a about to begin, and adventures are about to be revealed. You'll learn about pretty princesses in desperate situations, scary dragons to be slayed, and charming knights. These words open up a world of fantasy in your heart that lasts until the day you die. But once the age of pure imagination passes, and reality sets back in during the late teen years, all we learn to do is one of two extremes regarding fairy tales:

On the one hand, we all know those girls (and admit that we've been there too) who obsess over the "once upon a times" and "happily ever afters" that could happen in real life. It's not just a healthy wish for a happy ending, it's an all encompassing obsession that could lead to unhappiness later on down the road. It's a dream for a prince that is perfect. It's a hope for a life without any problems. It's an unrealistic set of expectations that will only bring misery.

On the other hand, there are the bitter girls who refuse to allow any sort of romantic dream seep into their lives. They think wishing for butterflies is a low only certain desperate girls could wish for. They think that if they even harbor just one though of wanting their lives to be anything like a fairy tale, then they're doomed to be trapped in a tower with an evil witch who won't ever let them out. (Figuratively of course.)

Both can be harmful. Both should be avoided. Let the fairy tales themselves be the guide. Don't make the mistake that God will send you a "perfect person" to be with. People are broken. Even the princes and knights have their issues in those fairy tales. They make mistakes. Don't ever think that life can't have magical moments in it either though. It's ok to hope for butterflies, and it's ok to hope for a "happily ever after". Just know that because this life is so darn crazy, that happily ever after probably won't come til we're standing with Jesus face to face. But that's ok too. We're going to have the dragons in this life to slay, but that charming prince? Yeah, there's just a possibility that he'll be standing there next to us helping us slay it. And that's the way real life fairy tales should work. You both working together to reach the goal. <3

Blessings,
~Paula(:

Happiness

                    It occurred to me this morning, after waking up on the wrong side of the bed, that I was not happy in the slightest.
                 
                   I'm a newly appointed member in the club of college freshman, and it has been one of the most up and down months of my entire life. I thought my moods could already change at the drop of the hat, being the emotional 18 year old girl that I am. But oh my word, I definitely had never experienced real mood swings til I stepped foot on this campus. I was absolutely ecstatic when I first got here. I was free. I was meeting kind people. I had new adventures to go on, and time to really learn how I deal with new things.  After the first crazy week of orientation though, school started. I had almost forgot college involved school. Tedious, grueling school. I'm not sure how it is at some colleges, but at mine, the workload has not let up for a second. It really set me off last week. Meltdowns were occurring left and right (for others too, not just me).  This week however, I had sort of acquired an apathetic nature toward the whole ordeal. Towards new friends, towards new interests (romantic, extracurricular, and whatever else goes on in the lives of freshies), and toward the Bs I've been getting (for a girl who's never gotten a B in a class in her life, getting Bs on all of the first few assignments has been a huge smack in the face, but I'm working on letting it be in the past.)

                       This morning when I woke though, I was a huge mess. I was grumpy. I was exhausted, and I was overwhelmed with the fact that my friendships, my grades, my crushes, my hopes, my dreams, all seemed to still be mysteries to me and I was left feeling helpless and frustrated. So all day I clammed up, not letting other people in, and certainly not listening to what other people needed. Finally my friend asked if I was alright, and I admitted that I wasn't. We were in the middle of the cafeteria though so when she asked what was wrong, I didn't feel like answering. I'm not even sure I could articulate what was wrong, because what was wrong was...well, everything.
                   Or at least, that was the thought I let myself employ in my head. But I got back to my dorm, started listening to music, worked on some school so I didn't have to feel totally unproductive, and drank coffee. Suddenly my eyes were opened. (It was either the Holy Spirit or the coffee, I'll let you be the judge.) Well, as open as they can be this side of Heaven. I've allowed the circumstances around me to dictate my mood. I've allowed them to creep into the depths of my heart and control me, instead of the other way around. I have become a slave to my situations and emotions. I haven't yet come to realize that boys who don't like me and a B on a quiz does not change the fact that I was made for a beautiful purpose. To love and be loved by God.
           This day I pray that God allows me to learn how to take the frustrating situations and annoyances of every day life, and deal with them in a healthy way. To acknowledge my weaknesses, but not indulge in them and throw a pity party. I pray that I not ignore the needs of others around me just because I feel like my world is crashing down around me. Because that is never true. Never, ever, ever. My world cannot crash down around me because Jesus is standing next to me holding it up, and holding me up too.

Happiness is found when we look towards the maker of it. So next time I wake up on the wrong side of the bed, I'll kneel on the other side and pray for the strength to find the constant joy we are all called to find.*