Fairytale Endings

Once Upon a Time...

God Made us to be Warrior Princesses

Alright, so it might not be in the same family as entertainment like Fireproof or Facing the Giants, but I just have to blurb about it! A show that I and many of my girlies at church adore is ABC's Once Upon a Time.  Even before it came on, we were wildly excited to see our favorite childhood stories come to life. Ever since the debut, my friends and I have been hooked!

It's a show full of twists and turns in the plots of the stories that we already feel we know so well. A lot of them are also twists that feel very modern (I'm underlining for emphasis in case you haven't noticed.) Since the very eve of Once's success, there's no doubt that television and movie studios in Hollywood have jumped on the fairytale bandwagon so that they can appeal to this very lucrative and growing cultural obsession.

Notice that I didn't say new. It's not a new fad. Fairytales have been part of our culture and many others for centuries. When you look at the older ones and then at others from all around the globe, one can't help but wonder how they could all follow a similar storyline. There's usually some hopeless person or a princess in peril, and then through all of the trials that a seemingly unbreakable curse can present good triumphs in the end (usually through a shiny knight riding on a white horse.)

Though, lately I've been seeing less and less of the white horse outcome. Most of the time good still triumphs, but there have even been a few modern retellings in which the outcome is simply dark. It makes me wonder what's happened to the hope we used to see in the overcoming good of these stories! It seems that even in the tales that little girls know so well, modern retellings sometimes portray the complete opposite message that they originally did.

Nowadays, I see more messages being thrown at us that look like this:

"Chivalry is dead. Don't expect a white horse romance."

"Expecting that you'll find a Prince Charming is naive and impossible."

"Waiting for the right person is silly, because there aren't any guys like the one you want."

"Marriage is just a silly status. You should try things out beforehand."

"It's every man and woman for himself now. You're nothing special, so learn to take care of yourself."

The list goes on...and on...and on!

It's not that nontraditional twists on fairytale endings are bad - that's actually not what I'm getting at here. I actually love seeing a princess whose character is three-dimensional over one who's just a damsel in distress and in turn is seemingly flatter than cardboard. There's nothing wrong with changing up the ending to Cinderella or Snow White so that the princess ends up saving the day. There's also nothing wrong with making your prince and princess fight side-by-side as equals the way that Prince and Snow do in their fairytale world in Once:

(See? Don't they just look so happy? Like two peas in a pod. Now...to resolve the issue of whatever that big purple cloud does...)

As a little girl, you learn tales like Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty and look to their triumphing good with a childlike splendour. It's widely said that the magic in these types of tales is one of the things that causes us to grow and have the ability to grasp hope in what we cannot see. I know that when I was little, I looked at the Disney Princesses in complete adoration. Not because I worshipped them, but because I wanted to be a princess. There was this desire inside of me, and inside of every little girl; to become a princess just like they were.

Anyone read the classic, A Little Princess? How about seeing the movie? I remember reading it a long time ago, and I still own the movie. If I recall right, in the movie Sarah makes a very good point in saying this to her abusive headmaster when she was faced with adversity. Even though she was thought an orphan, subjected to life living as an outcast and dressed in rags; she was able to jubilantly tell the woman that she was worth something.

"I am a princess. All girls are. Even if they live in tiny old attics. Even if they dress in rags, even if they aren't pretty, or smart, or young. They're still princesses. All of us. Didn't your father ever tell you that? Didn't he?"

Hear that? All girls are princesses! And it's no lie that all of us were born to become royalty. But, how can that be? Simple answer: we belong to God! The King of Kings sacrificed himself to make you clean, and he gave himself so that you could become royalty. You are a child of the Most High, and you were uniquely crafted in his image to do wonderful things:

"I praise you for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full and well." Psalm 139:14

And, if you haven't already seen that it's the verse at the top of the page; 1 Peter 2:9 tells us that we are not only made for great things - but we're also chosen to be a royal priesthood:

"But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may call praises of him who called you out of darkness and into wonderful light."

Okay, so you get it now. "Alright, we're royalty. But what does that have to do with my Prince Charming?" I can hear you asking it now. Don't worry, we're getting there.

So, if we're all princes and princesses, what does that mean for you? Does it mean that one day you'll need to be rescued by your future husband on a white horse? Actually...no. "Then what does this have to do with Prince Charming?" You're still baffled, I know.

Well, let's go back for a moment. Think of how Prince and Snow are portrayed on Once Upon a Time. I know it sounds crazy and completely irrelevant to Christianity in any context - but just do it. If you're a crazy follower of the series like me or any of my friends, you'll remember that in every one of the "Snow White + Prince Charming" episodes, the two are always seeking after each other.

In the original Disney cartoon, it was somewhat of a one way street. The Prince has been searching for her valiantly far and wide while Snow is in hiding. There's no evil in that, of course. In fact, it can be seen as an example of how Christ's love for us is far reaching and seeks us out even when we feel we are furthest from it. And on a human level, men should step up and adopt that Christlike attitude. Chivalry is not dead, and it shouldn't be! Men should step up and fight for the women that they love! Girls, settle for nothing less than a man who truly honors you as Christ does!

Though, back to what I was saying: my main point here is that a woman should not sit idly either. We are called as his daughters to pray for that one person and wait for them. And, we are to seek God's will for all of our relationships! I know this is hard news to hear for some, but there are girls (and guys!) who may not be meant to be with someone else at all. That's not a death sentence, either. Paul of Tarsus was pretty happy just knowing that he would have a future marriage alongside of all of his brethren to our Lord Jesus Christ.

That doesn't mean that you should spend your whole adolescence worrying that you're doing wrong dating or courting someone because you might or might not be one of those people. Jesus says not to worry, because the Lord is in control! As his servants, we have to accept that and trust that he knows what is best for our lives, and we must uphold the standards that he has given us! We are to live as if we are expecting Jesus to arrive at our door at any moment, and in doing that we can know in our hearts that we are doing the right thing as "ladies in waiting," for our future spouses.

Simple English answer: Worship Jesus, and NO SETTLING!

The Once characters are very unique in the sense that they both realize that they need each other and are willing to fight for each other whatever the cost. Neither of them settled. They waited for each other and even though there were trials, there was a happy ending. In the real world, Regina (similar to how sin gives us an illusion of what we should do and be) has them under her spell, attempting to make them believe that they should settle for less than each other and preventing them from being who they were created to be.

That is exactly what the world does to us today! Satan has us under the illusion that we should settle for less than God wants, and that we should lower our standards to be "happy." But lowering our standards to less than what God calls for will never bring a lasting joy. Not in the area of our friendships, not in the area of our family lives, in our future marriages or in our faith.

We all know how fairytales end. And just like every other classic, even Regina's illusion can't keep the prince and the princess apart. It's a lot like that for us. Right now, we are fighting against the curse of sin that has swept over our world. We know that Christ's sacrifice for us means that the battle has already been won - and in the end, Christ will triumph. It is said in his word that nothing can separate us from his love. And when Christ comes back for his church, we won't be idle either.

We're actually not even supposed to be idle now (gasp! Big shocker, I know.) The Bible tells us in so many different places that we are not only his bride, but we are also the warriors of his truth. Every man and woman who knows the truth of God's word is tasked with the mission of carrying it into battle. Just like modern tales tend to give their endings a modern twist with a warrior-princess saving the day, all of the people in God's kingdom are called to fight the good battle.

If you're a girl and you have a passion for God's word you're not called to sit as a damsel in distress. Embracing godly femininity is not sitting helplessly as a damsel in distress. Sure, there's things that women are made to do that guys typically aren't. I won't get into that now. But if anyone tries to tell you that as a young Christian woman that you are not meant to do what God has called you to do because of the fact that you are female; they are wrong. Being a godly woman should never be something that limits what you can achieve through Christ.

If you accept the cause of Christ, it says in Ephesians 6:13-15 that we are to arm ourselves with the armor of God. He will make the weak strong, and he will give knowledge to those who had none. The battle is treacherous, but it will be one that we'll continue to fight with truth until the day of Christ's return.

"Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace." Ephesians 6:13-15

In other words, when you enter into the battle, God will make you look a lot like this:

I know, right? Totally awesome.

So, I guess in reading this your mind might be whirling. That's okay. Mine is too. And I also just proved to myself that God's plan has the ultimate fairytale ending; but it won't play out like the typical tale. I'm not perfect at all - and neither are you! But somehow, the most important Prince Charming in the universe has caught sight of us and extended his invitation to become part of his kingdom. I've been seeking him, and you've been seeking him (even if you don't think that you have.) Accept the invitation, and become part of his eternal reign. By embracing his love, becoming godly women, and following where he leads we will fight on his side as warrior princesses. There will always be times when we fall short and feel we can't go on. But our Prince Charming will always pick us back up again. 

We will fight for his truth, and HE has already won the battle!

But what about that white horse?

Alright, I'll tell you now.

Your husband is not on the white horse. It might be a white horse, but not the white horse.

He can emulate the rider of the white horse (and he'd better) but he is not the rider on the white horse.

The rider is perfect and just, and will sweep you off your feet. When he wins the battle, we will celebrate and end this tale with a new beginning. His church will join him in marriage as his glorious bride.

Still haven't guessed yet?

Jesus will be the one on the white horse.

"I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war." Revelation 19:11

Girls, never settle for anything less than the man God intends for you. That man won't be perfect, but he will be someone who seeks after Christ and aims to follow him with all of his heart. If there's one word that describes what you should be looking for, it's this:

Christlike.

If you enjoyed this blog, check out this lighthearted video from the makers of Once Upon a Time. If you're familiar with the series, it will probably make you laugh! Remember, don't settle for anything less than your perfect match ;)