Listen Now
Who doesn’t know the classic story of the handsome prince who slips the sparkling slipper onto the foot of the servant girl and discovers his one true love, Cinderella? It Is a beautiful match made in heaven! All is well, and the two walk off happily ever after into the dazzling sunset!
As the fairy tale of Cinderella comes to the end, the one who we wanted to receive the gift of love, the one who deserved it, did receive it. The mean imposters were left empty-handed.
Bravo! We are familiar with the Hollywood version of the perfect world. Life in the reel world rarely looks like life in the real world.
Let’s be honest. When real life hits and the sparkling glass slipper doesn’t fit, how do we handle our disappointment?
I’m not just talking about relationships and romance. We can be stung with disappointment by any opportunity that falls short and misses the mark. It can be a career experience, an unmet goal, a physical health issue, or a family experience.
Do you and I just roll over and die when we’re hit with major disappointments? Do we give in to doom and gloom? Is it, “Bring out the ‘whine’ and cheese! Send in the firing squad!” Where is the future and our hope now? Do we just quit?
“God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change and the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference.”
Reinhold Niebuhr
In the midst of disappointment, we can’t let ourselves forget that God hasn’t finished the story of our lives!
What comes to mind for me is the principle of acceptance. Acceptance means being honest by acknowledging my reality over my imagination or fantasy. And that’s what the Serenity Prayer is all about. God says it best with these words:
No good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly. (Psalm 84:11b)
But they that seek the LORD shall not want any good thing. (Psalm 34:10)
Those who fear him lack nothing. (Psalm 34:9)
Perhaps our focus needs to be on the things we can change rather than the things I can’t change.
In a 19th century version of Cinderella written by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, the wicked stepsisters struggled with the concept of acceptance. Instead, the stepsisters try to trick the prince by cutting off parts of their feet in order to get the slipper to fit.
Emotionally, I have done the very same thing. I have tried to mutilate my thinking and personality in order to fit a person, place, or thing that wasn’t right for me. I need and I want to break the cycle of trying to connect myself with a person, place, or thing that is unhealthy for me. Do you?
Acceptance, my friend, hooks me up with a winning mindset. Acceptance is a power word, beloved! I need to accept what I can’t change and quit crying over the dream that might have been. I have to believe the Maker of the stars and sunsets knows what I need the most. I have to believe that better days are ahead! I have to trust that the Creator of Love can shower some rainbows my way!
After all, the Hero of the Big Book is madly in love with me! I am not saying this life is a cake walk, but He does transport me to a safe space. I am choosing to believe the biblical promise, “Blessings crown the head of the righteous” (Proverbs 10:6).
Ok, so maybe your glass slipper didn’t fit! But maybe God has a greater gift for you that will take your breath away! I call that a “Heaven drop.” Maybe His Heaven drop will be more than you can dream of or imagine! Heads up! There might be a greater golden slipper coming your way!
Wow verse: “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life” (Psalm 23:6).
Recovery tool: The principle of acceptance begins with honesty, courage, and faith. The reward is Godly wisdom and a life of blessings. We are honest when we accept our reality over our imagination or fantasy. “Let us walk honestly” (Romans 14:1). It means my hope is in Christ to fulfill my needs rather than myself. “As bad as you are, you still know how to give good gifts to your children. But your heavenly Father is even more ready to give good things to people who ask.” (Mathew 7:11). I can accept my reality because I trust in a power greater than myself — God — to work it all out for good.
I like to think about it like this: Since I am royalty in God’s family, I can believe my golden slipper is on the way!
