Did Cinderella live happily ever after?

Yes I know it’s a fairytale, but in this era dominated by Hollywood, there are a lot of things that we likely subconsciously accept as reality, but which in reality are also fairytales. In action movies which conclude with the rescue of the “damsel in distress,” we go away happy, knowing that “all’s well,  that ends well!” But is it?  The one rescued would  likely be suffering from PTSD?  And even if Cinderella was not suffering from PTSD, is it not likely that she would have abandonment and rejection issues? Perhaps she would be glad for the rescue by her handsome prince, but would there not be aftereffects from a lifetime of being bullied, controlled and taken advantage of by the sister uglies?

As a young man I used to pooh-pooh the idea of anyone needing psychological help. I would ask "Whey don't then just to suck it up?"  Indeed  many try to,  but finish up medicating their pain in a thousand different ways. It’s not just substance abuse, it’s obsessive thinking, workaholism. We put up walls of protection that seriously damage our ability to have intimacy. we hide our guilt and shame behind and apparently happy exterior (Proverbs 14:13). One of the things I pooh-poohed was the idea of a midlife crisis,  that is until I had one. I have never done things by halves, and if I was going to have a midlife crisis, I  was determined to have one with bells,  whistles and signs following! It was a dilly, but at least I knew that something needed to be done. I no longer pooh-poohed it all.

I think it’s safe to say that most of us will eventually come to a bump in the road, a crisis of some sort. And these things are crossroads. Cinderella would likely wake up one day to realize her “happily ever after” was not happening. And of course it was all his fault! What I’m saying,  is that the default is the blame game,  to feel like a victim and act out  demanding our rights. I have observed that people who come through broken marriages come in two types, those who learn a great deal from the experience looking inwardly, and those who learned nothing,  and go on to make the same mistakes over and over. I think it was Socrates who said “the unexamined life is not worth living.” The biblical way  is to pray “Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my anxieties; And see if there is any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting. (Psalm139:23, 24).

Father, if we pray this prayer, we had better mean it.  We need to be willing to allow You to do heart surgery. Grant Mullen describes this as deep pit mining on the heart! And  more and more I am coming to realize that if we are to find release from the power and pollution of sin, then we need to cooperate with You in our  heart healing and freedom gaining sanctification.  Recovery is hard Lord it’s not for the faint of heart. And so I asked this morning for myself Lord,  and all those reading these posts, that You will give us the grace,  the courage and the wherewithal to cooperate with You in the necessary heart surgery. I know you have our best interest at heart Lord, and I choose to trust You.  And I give You thanks and praise in Jesus Name Amen