Sunday, October 3, 2010

Your Happily Ever After


Sunday is the day I share a little of my soul. Enjoy.
I've had a lot of time the last couple of days to think on my earthly experiences and trials that have brought me to the point I am now. I've thought of my childhood...and fairy tale stories. As a child, in my minds eye I could see the lavish marble halls of those castles in the clouds. I wanted to dance blissfully through the manicured gardens and dawn the giant fluffy gowns. I wanted a fairy Godmother. In real life, there has been a lot more floor scrubbing than I remembered reading about. Yet...there has still been joy. I've thought often of those tales I read as a child and wondered how my life could be so amazing at times, yet painful at other times. I read a speech called "Your Happily Ever After"that said something amazing about the heroic character of those stories:

"Sandwiched between their “once upon a time” and “happily ever after,” they all had to experience great adversity. Why must all experience sadness and tragedy? Why could we not simply live in bliss and peace, each day filled with wonder, joy, and love?

The scriptures tell us there must be opposition in all things, for without it we could not discern the sweet from the bitter. Would the marathon runner feel the triumph of finishing the race had she not felt the pain of the hours of pushing against her limits? Would the pianist feel the joy of mastering an intricate sonata without the painstaking hours of practice?

In stories, as in life, adversity teaches us things we cannot learn otherwise. Adversity helps to develop a depth of character that comes in no other way. Our loving Heavenly Father has set us in a world filled with challenges and trials so that we, through opposition, can learn wisdom, become stronger, and experience joy. "

I believe that music is one of the most amazing ways to share my soul. So, today I want to share a song with myself as much as I share it with all of the women and mothers out there who ever wonder if they are what they hoped to be. You are. I am. We are. Our eternal identity as daughters of God gives us beauty unsurpassed by what we see in the world. I believe with all my heart that God has a great work for you to do. Never underestimate the power and beauty that are embodied in who you are and what you do.Thanks most especially to Cheri Call for this amazing song, that so fully shares my feelings on the matter.

1 comment:

Heather Hunt said...

It reminds me of the Velveteen Rabbit. You have to get your fur rubbed off and be 'loved' to really make it in this world.