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“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”
Joshua 1:9b (NIV)

Once Upon a Time

Everyone loves a good love story. From the time we were little girls, we looked for one in our own lives, to find our one true love.

Loves stories are not always with Fairy Tale beginnings or endings, like the movies, but in our minds as young girls, a true love story should always end with the prince and princess walking together, hand-in-hand, into the sunset…and living happily ever after.

Our lives are a picture of a little bit ‘Fairy Tale’ overshadowed by a lot of reality.

The most wonderful love stories are not those created by an author and captured in a book to read, or movie to watch, but the ones that have been touched by the Master’s hand…the hand of God.

No Fairy Tale ending

What do we do when we don’t get the Fairy Tale ending?

Losing my husband to a massive heart attack threw me instantly into a world that could be described as the ‘Twilight Zone’. Developing Zombie-like tendencies, I found myself putting one foot in front of the other never realizing where I started from or where I was headed.

The noise of the television was like a terrible roar I could not bear, but turning it off, I quickly realized that the silence was just as loud.

My first attempt at watching a movie quickly sent me into an hours-long meltdown, a headache and swollen eyes for days. The movie?

Beauty and the Beast

I loved the story, but the last scene did me in as they held hands and walked into a beautiful sunset to experience their happily ever after.

In my mind that day, there would be no happily ever after for me.

Thankfully, we are not characters in a Fairy Tale.

Have you wondered how your love story could continue without your husband?

To be perfectly honest, I have not conquered grief. I believe I have just interchanged the words from grieving to extreme ‘missing’ with the occasional revisiting of that terrible pain of those early days.

My love story is one I cherish. It has both beautiful, happy chapters as well as some very hard ones, but it is my own. The chapters continue, perhaps not written as I would have chosen, but the same God who orchestrated and cultivated the beginning will continue to write my story until He marks it ‘finished’.

The most wonderful realization is …

As our story on this earth is finished, our greatest love story will begin…

in ~ and for ~ eternity.

All because of Jesus

“You are loved more than you will ever know by someone who died to know you.”
Romans 5:6 (Paraphrased)

Jesus has added new and Divinely written chapters to our love stories.

I have shed many tears over the last five years as I have missed the feel of my husband’s hand covering mine – missed his very presence in my life.

Though the Bible tells us there will not be marriage in Heaven like here on this earth, I believe there is a wonderful day coming when Steve will take my hand and say, “Let’s go see Heaven, together.”

Our stories are not Fairy Tales.

Maybe you were not in a good place when your husband passed away, or like so many of us, we battle regrets of things we wished we had said or done, but one thing we can be sure of…

Because of Jesus Christ, we can look forward to our happily ever after in Heaven with Him.

“Whenever you feel unloved, unimportant, or insecure, remember to whom you belong.”
Ephesians 2:19-22 (Paraphrased)

Our Heavenly Father, we thank You for the love story You have given us. We praise You, Father, that one day we will experience the new chapters You have written for all of eternity. Amen