Happy Endings

I'm a sucker for happy endings.

In life. In love. In the movies.

While I've always loved the idea of fairy tales, I learned at a young age that things won't always go the way I hope they will. Yet, despite the inevitability of "hard" all around me, I can't remember a time when conflict and pain didn't make me want to curl up in a ball and hide until it all passed. I can't remember a time when my stomach didn't tie up in knots at the news of a failed marriage, a broken family, a lost loved one or a heartbreaking headline. Death, breakups, loss, grief. I don't really know how to do it well. 

Even in the midst of painful realities, I've always craved more. I long for perfect, happy, whole, complete. I long for closure, reconciliation and second chances. I long for stories where love wins and evil loses. I long for happy endings.

It doesn't even have to be real life. Just the other night on Parenthood, Joel and Julia were telling their children that Joel was moving out and the parents were separating. That night, I couldn't even stay in the room to watch the kids' reactions. I felt those knots start forming in my stomach and knew I wasn't just feeling deeply for characters on a show, but for all the kids living through these moments, for my 15 year old self. That night, it felt like too much for me.

even the picture...

You know you've felt it. It might not be the same scene that wrecks you, but you know "that" scene where you think,"Why am I doing to myself? Like there isn't enough going on in life. I'm just going to take the emotional roller coaster for one more spin." I'm tempted to just sit out the rest of the season until the finale when I hope the writers will make it all better. Life does not always feel like fairy tale, so when I sit down on the couch to watch a movie or curl up with a good book, I'd really like it to be.

Movies and TV story lines with happily ever after endings reflect something deeper. They reflect the desires of all of our hearts, don't they? A story with a sad ending seems incomplete and leaves us wanting more. I believe that's how God designed us. Something inside of us yearns for resolution because God created us to yearn for a love that is complete, a never stopping, never giving up, unbreaking, always and forever love. (Thank you for the word picture, Jesus Storybook Bible! Have you ever read it? Seriously, kids or no kids...pick this Bible up.)

I may be able to turn the TV off or choose another book in my attempt to avoid unnecessary sadness for a moment. But not in real life. I'm learning that while every part of me wants to curl up and hide until it all passes, it's important to press into the hard places because it's there that God's love heals. When the pain and heartbreak all around me seems like too much, I'm learning to rest because God knows the whole story. He sees what I can't. He knows what I don't. Oh how the Lord wants me to truly "get" this in my life.

For this light and momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison (2 Cor 4:17)

When we put our trust in Jesus, He promises to work all things together for the good of those who love Him. His love makes us whole and gives hope where hope is needed the most. Even in situations when we don't see His goodness prevail in our lifetime, it does, because His Word promises it will. Love wins. Evil loses. There is a happy ending even if we have to wait until eternity for it.

Free printable here.

What I continue to learn is that I can't place my hope in happy endings on earth and I will never fully understand God's will. But, I find hope in knowing that God is good (always, no matter what) and He protects us. He brings us through.    

Jesus is our happy ending because He is the answer to all the brokenness in the world and in our hearts. When "love" around us seems to fail, His love never does. Having a relationship with Jesus doesn't take away hardship, but it changes despair to hope. He is a God of reconciliation and second chances. In the midst of the pain and suffering, Jesus renews, restores and makes us whole. In Him, we find beauty in the brokenness. With Him, we find the strength and courage to walk through pain. He helps me to stand, instead of curl up and hide. He is gracious when life feels like too much. Our souls don't just long for a happy ending, our souls long for His grace. We are all made for a happy ending and that happy ending can only be found in and through Jesus.

The writers may never bring Joel and Julia back together (insert sad face) and Mockingjay might not end the way I hoped (I may have skipped ahead in the midst of my tension to see). Hardships will come that I never wanted to experience and people I love will face pain that I can't make go away. In the midst of it all, I cling to my happy ending. I cling to my hope in Jesus, as he teaches me to love and believe in a better love story. His happy ending.

c/o PBJ stories Etsy shop

What makes you want to curl up and hide?