Casandra Martin

The Facebook message made me smile and then brought tears to my eyes. More importantly, it made me think. A young friend of mine recently posted a congratulations to her parents on their anniversary. Here is what she wrote.

“I don’t believe in happily ever after because of storybooks and Disney Princesses. I believe in marriages lasting because I see what a Godly marriage should look like. Thank you for showing me what I have to look forward to.”

How many of our children think that happily ever after only happens in fairy tales? Dreams of true love, faithfulness, gallantry, and deep goodness collide with the reality of our broken, selfish, fractured world, leaving our children to wonder why love should inspire our souls. Yet, Christian parents and grandparents carry a unique privilege and responsibility. We get to show our children that happily ever after aren’t words tacked onto the end of a story, but the true ending of The Story, life’s story, the story of Jesus.

We get to show them, in the practical, everyday ways that matter, what happily ever after looks like while doing the laundry, cleaning the kitchen, and balancing a budget. We have the opportunity to model kindness, respect, gentleness, selflessness, and humor when it would be easier to walk away or walk out. When life is dark, we point them to the Light. When life is hard, we live it on our knees. Children see their future in our todays.

My Jesus Resolution today is live out my happily ever after. It doesn’t matter if you are married or single, have kids or don’t. Happily ever after is about living life with God, here today, right where you are. Margaret Bonanno once said, “It is only possible to live happily ever after on a daily basis.” Every day as we choose to look like Jesus, live love out loud, and surrender to God’s deep purpose, we are showing our children, our friends, our co-workers, and our neighbors what it means to live the happily ever after life.