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Ah, Price Charming, the fictional man that women search for and men...well, men hate! As little girls, we begin hearing and watching tales of this heroic young man long before we even know how to read! We dress up in our "Princess" clothes and wait to be rescued.
In my house, we actually have a Prince Charming! From about the time my youngest daughter was three, she has referred to her oldest brother, now 17, as "Charming! The first time it happen, she was lying in bed with me and a spider crawled across my ceiling. She began yelling, "Charming, Charming...come rescue me!" My son came in, killed the spider and told her that he was not Prince Charming. She was not deterred, and even now will holler out, "Charming, Charming...come rescue me," whenever she is in "danger."
Skyler's desire to be rescued by Charming echos the heart of so many grown women, including, at times, myself. You see we grow up hearing the fairy tales and then we begin our own quest for Prince Charming, we find him and marry him and often, he turns into a frog! So what happened? Was he a frog all along, or is there something wrong with our thinking? And maybe, just maybe, we aren't the princess we started out to be?
This past week I celebrated my 19th wedding anniversary. My husband and I started celebrating about 1:30 in the morning when our 4 month old woke up, and woke his 20 month old brother up to join the fun. Apparently they had planned an early morning surprise party for us, that lasted until well after 4 AM! To add to the fun, while unplugging an alarm clock from a kitchen outlet, flames shot out and caused the circuit breakers to pop. By 7 AM I was covered in baby puke and at just after 8, my husband called to tell me that our BRAND NEW van was broken down and would require a tow back to the dealership. None of this was a part of my fairytale anniversary plan.
In my ladies Sunday School class, we are studying Joyce Meyers, Battlefield of the Mind, and we just wrapped up our study of Chapter 14 where Meyers talks about the importance of right thinking and of filling our minds full of truth rather than wishes! She shares the story of a woman whose life was in shambles and who had actually come to the point of despising her husband. She prayed diligently for things to change but it wasn't until she discovered the error in her thinking that things began to look up. She realized that she was, "mentally living in a world that did not exist and never would. Therefore she was totally unprepared to deal with reality." (Meyers)
As we began to discuss this story, one of the experienced ladies in our group made this statement, "Girls, even Prince Charming farts." Of course we all giggled, but then we began to think about the truth of that statement. No person is perfect, I am certainly not, so why is it that I would expect my spouse to be? He is human, he makes mistakes, and though he is my Prince Charming, he is not perfect. We look at other couples and think, if only my husband was like that then I would be happy. We watch the latest Nicholas Sparks film and think, "Oh I wish my husband would behave that way." And often times, I let my idea of what should be spoil what is. I get an idea in my head and allow it to tint everything else I see.
How about you? Have you painted some picture of "happily ever after" only to be disillusioned when reality came knocking? I encourage you to give your thoughts the truth test this week and see if it changes anything for you. The test comes from Philippians 4:8, "Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things." So is this thought true? If not toss it out and replace it with the truth. Well maybe it is true but is it noble? No? Then why are you letting it take up space in your mind? Go through the entire verse and put your thoughts to the the test. Remember to that when we look at other couples, we are looking from the outside and have no idea what may truly be going on. And as for the latest Nicholas Sparks tale, well it is considered fiction for a reason!
I am praying today for your marriage, and for mine! Let me know how that truth test goes for you! I always love hearing from you!
Blessings, Marla
