Happily Ever After

Ferdinand, Philip, Eric, Adam, Henry and Charming ... all of these are the names of Disney princes, my childhood view of what true love looked like. A dashing, wealthy animated prince who sees me from across the room, falls instantly in love, saves me from some terrible villain and we live happily ever after in the castle. Ahhhh. A perfect ... fairy tale.

And that's just it, they are indeed fairy tale princes. After childhood, I dug deep into romance novels. Now the hero was buff, worldly, sometimes misunderstood, commanding and again deeply, passionately in love with the heroine. A perfect ... fiction.

Fiction and fairy tales do not a perfect example of a husband make. Husbands are not flawless swashbucklers with an unending bank account just like wives are not floating songbirds with a Barbie-like figure and an ability to speak to the squeaky animals of the forest. We are flawed humans.

We talked yesterday about making comparisons to parents, but honestly we have to be careful not to make comparisons to Fitzwilliam Darcy, Edward Cullen, Jack Dawson and Rhett Butler or, as Daddy said while "thinking like a man," supermodels. We have loved ones that don't walk out of the midst to save us in dire moments or ladies who vacuum while wearing black lace bras and garters. We love real people with real problems.

So while it may have been fun to daydream of the man who rides up on a white stallion or the woman whose hair is constantly blowing in the breeze while wearing chiffon, it's plain and simple fantasy and should be left in the books and movies that created them.

My Prince Charming is named Brad Zimanek. He is debonair, romantic, sexy, hard-working, God-fearing, and right now snoring behind me on the pink fluffy bed in my office. That is my knight in shining armor. He fulfills Song of Solomon 1:16 for me "How handsome you are, my beloved! Oh, how charming!" And Brad's supermodel is a little over 5'3, squashy and hates to cook. But I am his princess; his Song of Solomon 1:15 "How beautiful you are, my darling! Oh, how beautiful!" He makes me feel that way all the time.

We have our fairy tale, and it's filled with wishes, dreams, songs, villains, miracles, sparkles and more often not, happy endings. And I fully intend to ride off into the sunset with him. Of course, we'll probably fall off the horse a few times first, because that's life. But I wouldn't want to fall off with anyone else but him. Now if we could just find that castle...

Discussion: Tell what you thought a husband or wife would be like when you were a child? How did that change when you were an adolescent? Did you have a romantic hero or heroine you imaged your spouse would be like?

Prayer: Father, we thank you for the love story you chose for us and the hero/heroine you have brought into our lives. We pray, Lord, that we delight in each other as you intended. May our life tale be one that brings us ever closer to our one true love - You. In Christ, Amen.