"Happily Ever After"

One time and once upon a time,

I don’t object to that,

A good way to begin a tale,

When with our mothers sat.

And as the tale unfolded,

We could fill in the lines,

We knew just what she’s ‘bout to say,

From hearing all those times.

And if a part was left out,

My sister, bro, or I,

Would remind my mother,

Or at least we’d try.

And after wrongs were righted,

And the hero won the fight,

The bad ones all were conquered,

And things came out all right.

She said what we expected,

We thought that it was true,

They all lived happily ever after,

And then the story’s through.

And off we’d go to play or eat,

Or maybe watch TV,

Didn’t give another thought,

To that tale’s end, you see.

But then we were not children,

But way back in our minds,

Happily ever after,

We did not leave behind.

We thought after our battles,

And we learned what we could,

The happy ever after,

Was coming, surely would.

Life happened and I realized,

It is not a fairy tale,

Sometimes bad guys win the day,

And sometimes good guys fail.

And the princess can get witchy,

And the armor on the prince,

Can get to lookin’ rusty,

And he’s too tired to fence.

And that happy ever after,

It never did get here,

So what to do about it,

If you have ears to hear.

And that is life is never,

About what seems to be,

But rather what it really is,

And this advice is free,

The happy ever after,

Is not this life at all,

But what will come hereafter,

When we’re done with it, y’all.

Yes, happily ever after,

Is when we die and go,

Into the arms of Jesus,

To heaven, not below.

And until then we do our best,

To trust and sing and pray,

Live so everybody,

Can come and find the way.

“And if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world…” (1 Cor. 15:19, NLT)

Our hope in Christ has, and always will be, more about heaven than this life. Jesus came to give us abundant life and there is great joy and peace in knowing Him. But we are to be pitied if that’s all there is. Why? Because we have set ourselves up for disappointment. Truth is, the hope we put in Jesus never will. Everything and everyone else, has the potential to let us down. But not Jesus. He never will. And for that reason our “happily ever after” has an eternal definition. Then, and only will the full salvation that Jesus died to give us come true. And it will come true because it is true.

Lord, help us put our hope in You, in Jesus’ name.

Art by Jason Rich, jasonrichstudios.com. Used by permission. Thanks, Jason, and God bless you.