Finding Truth in Fairy Tales

      I have probably seen/heard the movie Tangled close to 50 times - maybe more, maybe less.  Lily loves it, and so do I, though I might wish she would branch out a little.  I love all the classic Disney movies, and for a while in college, I researched what it would take to become one of the princesses at Disney World.  (As it turns out, it would take quite a bit, and I ended up working at CFA, which obviously has so much in common with being a princess.)  After spending a lot of time thinking about how much I love Disney stuff, I started to wonder what the real draw was.  Why do I cry every time I see the fireworks over Cinderella's castle?  Why do I resonate with Rapunzel's character, though my upbringing bears no resemblance to her's?  I have realized that I love story, and I love what it reveals about our real stories in our real lives - the ones that God is always writing on our hearts.
       I did write about this a while back when I wrote about my love for Harry Potter, and I feel like it only becomes more true over time.  I love fairy tales, because they echo the real story of my spiritual existence.  While I may not have been locked away in a tower raised by an evil, fake mother, the world does tell me things about myself that aren't true.  It does not want me to fully recognize or live in the truth that I am a child of the King - the real King of the universe.  The moment when Rapunzel realizes that she is the lost princess brings me to tears every time I am actually paying attention to it - it is like my soul realizes that I have that same story inside myself.
      This same story, the one within each of us, is written in the fairy tales and stories that capture our hearts the most.  Think: Lion King - Simba lives for years with false guilt but eventually claims his identity and leads his fellow lions to a better life.  Think: Beauty and the Beast - this one is flipped a bit, but the Beast lives in an enchanted castle, trapped by his own selfishness until he finally learns how to really love.  Oh, I have a lot to learn from that one.  Think:  The Chronicles of Narnia - this one is sort of a gimme since it was written as spiritual allegory, but what could be better than realizing that Aslan really loves us and will one day rule the world and restore all things to the way they were meant to be.  The list goes on and on.
      I just finished reading Heaven Is For Real, which I had wanted to read for a long time.  I loved the book and felt it was a sincere story that is really encouraging.  Thinking about our future in Heaven is really thrilling when I take the time, which I should more often, and I felt it strengthened my belief that this world is not our home.  We were meant for something better.  We were meant for so much more.
      I first saw this quote in my sister-in-law's dining room and fell in love with it.  I feel like it sums up my take on fairy tales.



So, if you ever go to Disney World with me and find me crying at strange moments, I am probably just realizing all over again that we were made for something more.  I love finding truth in fairy tales, and I am glad that I have such a great hope in Jesus Christ.