Fairy Tales

I used to believe in fairy tales. Girls often do. When we were young, we likened ourselves to the young princesses, the damsels in distress, being rescued by the gallant Prince Charming, or the mighty, and brave knights of old. We have stars in our eyes, and hopeful love in our hearts. We believe in romance and of happily ever after. We have high hopes for ourselves and for our life.



Then, we grew older.



It changes things, growing older. We experienced all the nasty things that can only happen to adults. Rejection, disappointments, broken hearts, and unfulfilled promises. We become jaded. We expect the worst things to happen and that's what we often get. We fear rejection, and it often paralyzes us into inaction. We lower our expectations, and we have fewer hopes, for ourselves and for our life.



But the great thing about growing up is is that we learn constantly. Learning from our mistakes, learning to get up after we fall, learning how to let go, learning to love without losing oneself, and learning how to fly, without losing sight of the ground.



I learned how to follow my dreams. I learned how to cope with rejections, disappointments and loneliness. I learned not to regret but to move forward. I learned how to celebrate God's blessings. And I learned that I didn't have lower expectations and standards, just different hopes.



I may not believe in fairy tales anymore, but I still believe that we can have our own happy endings. We just have to make it. And with God's help, it just might be possible.