Love, Longings, and Fairy Tales

FINDING FULFILLMENT,
Part 1 of 5

From the time we are little girls, we hear “happily ever after” stories. We read about them in romance novels. We watch them in romantic comedies. We see them in Walt Disney movies. And of course, we’re all familiar with the classic fairy tales.

But there are some little known facts about fairy tale relationships.

Let’s start with the story of Sleeping Beauty. Once she “woke up,” she discovered that her prince wasn’t royalty after all. He merely stumbled upon her on his way to a costume party at the castle.

And poor Snow White. Once she really got to know him, she realized that her “Happy” prince was actually a composite of all seven dwarves—along with Happy, she got Sleepy, Dopey, and Grumpy.

After the royal wedding, Cinderella discovered that her husband, Charming, wasn’t so perfect after all. He constantly left the lid up on the royal chamber pot, he frequently threw his dirty leggings all over the bedroom floor—and he had a foot fetish.

Funny how we never heard about those realities.

Everything in our culture reinforces the fairy tale myth that the right man will make any woman’s life complete, perfect, and blissful. As a result, we tend to buy into that belief. Then, we’re disappointed.

Ah… but there’s more than one way to be a princess and to feel like a princess. You can marry a fantasy fairy tale prince, or you can be the daughter of the glorious King!

(You can find more in-depth discussions, answers, and worksheets in Dee’s book, The Divine Romance—Going to God with the Longings Only He Can Fulfill.)

Next Time: The Big Reality

What do you think?

How does our culture today reinforce the fairy tail myth?

Why is feeling truly loved so important to us?