What is your story? We all have a story and in some amazing ways your story intertwines with that of others. Most of you know my story. If not it is laced throughout the pages of this blog. My story, like yours, is not yet finished.

It is true that there are aspects of each of our stories that are outside of our control. Often we can do nothing to change our circumstances. But the heart of one’s story is in his own hands. Each morning we are faced with this decision: what shape will the heart of my ongoing story take?

Recently, I took my girls to see Cinderella. A good point regarding the shaping of one’s story can be made in assessing this tale. Cinderella has a story. Hers meets adversity at a young age with the loss of both parents and a once happy childhood turned into a life of cruel servanthood. Her stepmother, also, has a story. It too is filled with adversity as seen in the loss of not one but two husbands. It is what each chose to do with that adversity that sets her apart from the other. One allowed kindness and hope to blossom in her heart and the other harbored anger and bitterness. The clashing of the two results in the fairy tale as we know it.

We, too, are living in a fairy tale, of sorts, where good and evil, anger and hope constantly clash. Like Cinderella and her stepmother, we, too, are given a chance to decide how we will let circumstances shape us.

There is no loss of hurt in this world. You see it daily in the form of death, divorce, sickness, injury, job loss, wayward children or abusive spouses. We are not so naive as to wait for a fairy godmother to make it right. We know there are no magic pumpkins, talking mice or glass slippers. My prayer, however, is that you also know there IS both a King and a Prince. And for everyone who lives in the Kingdom, be they nobility or commoner, there IS a happily ever after.

It is because of this King, a Heavenly King far greater than any earthly king could be, that there is hope outside of our circumstances. It is because of this Heavenly King that each of our stories, whether filled with comfort or adversity, finds purpose. Our hope is not in this world. Adversity makes that reality ring true. Our hope is in Christ and our happily ever after is in His Resurrection.

God has made Himself known in many ways. Each day the sun rises again. There are mountains covered with snow and caves filled with wonders. The majesty of God is all around us. Good is still present in this world. It is seen each time a meal is brought to new parents or a donation made for a good cause. It is seen in a visit made to a hospital room and felt in a moment spent on our knees in prayer.

Let these actions, performed from the overflow of God within us, be the magic pumpkin or glass slipper given to another. For those that are hurting there can be laughter and love once again. And for those that know God the promise of happily ever after is just on the horizon.

A story, once told, cannot be untold. Yes, there are parts of your story that you cannot control. Still, you can let it weave itself into a glorious story that is yours alone. One which, when filled with faith in God, has the power to point others to Christ.

What is your story?