The LORD appeared to him from afar, saying, “I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have drawn you with lovingkindness. ~ Jeremiah 31:3
Confession. I did not sign up for the single, independent, career woman role; I signed up for the fairy tale. The knight in shining armor. A man who yields his sword to protect me at the slightest hint of danger. A man who would love me in sickness and health, and on good and bad hair days. And I checked the box for happily-ever-after.
The reality is that I am single. Actually, I am single again, which is a nice way to say that I am divorced. After ten years of a living out my own scripted fairy tale, I found myself suddenly single. My handsome prince made a choice and it was not me. Rejected, I found myself face to face with my greatest fear: I was alone. It took me a long while to right my toppled world; it was the hope that I’d meet my true prince that encouraged me and kept me moving forward. However, to my dismay, my days of singleness turned into months, then years, and even slid past the decade mark and well beyond.
I can’t tell you the countless days I scanned the horizon, looking for a prince who was searching - anxiously - for the woman who could wear the translucent slipper he had safely tucked in his saddlebag. Over the years, several princes did come on the scene. Not one of them looked in my direction; I didn’t even get the chance to try on the shoe. Instead, the prince swooped up a beloved sister-in-the faith. Sure, I was happy that God blessed her with the man of her dreams, but I admit I considered wrestling her to the ground and snatching the shoe. As I watched their romantic story unfold, the why-not-me feelings consumed me with a vengeance, hurling me headfirst into the muck and mire of a pity party. Poor little ol’ me.
Yet, somewhere along the way, the Lord began to rescript my life. One evening He asked me to thank Him for my singleness. I confess I wasn’t immediately obedient. I struggled. Really struggled. How could I thank Him for something I wasn’t thankful for? Reluctantly, and tearfully, I surrendered and thanked Him.
And the most amazing thing happened. I began to see my singleness as a gift. The Lord opened my eyes to great truths. He IS my First Love, my Prince, Defender and Provider. I am not alone (Joshua 1:9). I am His chosen (John 15:16) and the apple of His eye (Psalm 17:8). He sings over me (Zephaniah 3:17). He is my maker and my husband (Isaiah 54:5) and He loves me with an everlasting love (Jeremiah 31:3).
While I am still a somewhat hopeless romantic, and occasionally glance at the horizon hoping to see a steed galloping in my direction, I’ve stopped the desperate search for Cindy’s glass slipper. The Lord has an amazing plan for me (Jeremiah 29:11); it is a good plan that offers hope and is exceedingly abundantly more than I can ask or think (Ephesians 4:20).
So, Cinderella, you can have the glass slipper, prince, and even the castle. Since I have given authorship of my life to the Master Scriptwriter, my story has a guaranteed never-ending happily-ever-after: I am His forevermore!