The Truth About Fairytales

A long time ago, 11 months ago…or was it eleven years ago…or eleven days ago? As Einstein said, “Time is an illusion.”

Anyway.

Back to what I was saying.


11 months ago I had one of my paintings posted as my facebook header. The quote I had painted said:
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“Life itself is the most wonderful fairytale.”

-Hans Christian Andersen


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The day after my husband died someone who loved me innocently and lovingly commented, “I am so sorry your fairytale ended this way.”

And the comment literally struck my heart as if an arrow had pierced my chest. My stomach sank as I realized once again how my life had been placed upside down.

It reminded me of when I was a little kid and I would lay on the bed with half of my body hanging off looking at the room upside down. I would imagine what it would be like if my room really were upside down. How would I sit in a chair? Will I now be tripping over the ceiling fan every time I run for the phone? It was odd, intriguing, and very uncomfortable--especially towards the end when all the blood went rushing to my head.

That’s what this felt like.

My world was upside down and the blood was rushing to my head.

But I could never straighten it out.

I am still in the same world, the same house, the same room…but even after 11 months I will be caught in a moment where I realize I live in all of this upside down.
 


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When I look back on the beginning it still mystifies me how I understood and knew things that perhaps normal people don’t.
 
On the car ride home after he died I knew God was going to use me. I knew that this painful, horrible thing was going to be a source of light and demonstration of His love. And it made me sick because the love of my life was worth more than that to me. 

I knew when I read the comment that my fairytale was over that it wasn’t. While it made me sob to think that it WAS over, I knew with an almost angry and passionate feeling that it was indeed NOT over. This was merely the halfway point in my fairytale.
 

Because I am a heroine and this is my story.
 

I entered into this world on my own and that is how I will end it. All of these people in my life have entered at different points and as such they will exit it. They are the characters that teach me. However brief or lengthy, however minute or profound...
 

      You are all teaching me.

               You are all blessing me.
 

But this journey is mine. 


This fairytale is mine. I might not get to write this story, but I damn well get to choose how I react to what happens to me.
 


This is my story.


 
And this is what I choose for mine:
 
My story is full of magic, fantastical beings, and wondrous sights.

I will be kind, courageous, and determined.

I will use my knowledge to help others.

I will use magic to my advantage; to all our advantage.

I will give up who I was in order to become what I was meant to be.

I will be true to myself and listen to my heart.

I will feel and see the power of love again and again.

I will have hope, feel gratitude, and exude joy despite hardships.

I will always have faith that this story will end more beautifully than I could have ever imagined.
 
 

Here is the truth about fairytales:

You have your own fairytale.

Your fairytale doesn’t end when someone you love dies or when something ends.

In fact, when someone you love dies your life becomes more magical because they are busy doing things in their invisible cloaks like making feathers rain from the sky and sending butterflies to sit in your hair. Your life is now magnified in blessings because someone you love is making sure you can’t argue it.  

If something in your life ends, I promise you something far better or something just as beautiful will take its place. It will not be the same, but it will still be just as precious, worthy, and beautiful.


Heck, your fairytale doesn’t even end when you die.


Because if you are like me you believe that our souls are everlasting and there is no end.

The completion of this life opens the door to heaven.
 


So there really is such thing as happily ever after.
 

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Don’t ever forget that you are the heroine (or hero) of your story. No matter what happens to you, this is not the end.
 


Our fairytale in not over.  

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