TwentySomething

I have a somewhat embarrassing confession to make.  I am a lover of all things Disney.  This ranges from Finding Nemo all the way to Frozen.  Most girls out there have to be willing to admit that from a young age they were captivated by disney princesses, and if they aren’t willing to admit that, then at least admit that its grabbed your attention in some way; the gowns, tiaras, and princes. Girls line up to get autographs of face characters at Disney-World, or beg and plead with their parents to let them be a princess for Halloween.  Its all fun and cute when we’re little, but what happens when we’re all grown up and those fairytales are our ideas of love?

The disney princess picture above is from Sleeping Beauty, which is one of my all time favorites.  These older classics tend to have the same theme.  Girl meets guy, guy rescues girl… then they live happily ever after.  Thats all fine and dandy, but what happens after happily every after?  In the real world we aren’t being placed under sleeping curses in need of true love’s kiss, so why do we feel we need to be saved?While I truly love these movies, I can’t help but feel that their message has caused some unrealistic beliefs amongst our culture.

First: yes, love comes with happiness, but what the movies tend to leave out is the struggles.  They only show the joyful parts; when the lovers are reunited or their first meeting.  I’m sure Aurora and Phillip fought over plenty of things. What about Phillip’s bro-like relationship with his horse, Samson?  Or how Aurora feels the need to sing at the top of her lungs all day? But those are scenes that are never shown, because who wants to see a couple bicker.

Second: we are insistent on thinking that we need a guy to save us.  Here’s a question, what do we need saving from?  Seriously, I’m not being attacked by dragons or placed under sleeping curses.  Last time I checked, I was just trying to make it to class on time.  A guy will never complete your life.  Thats way too much pressure to place on one person.  I will say that they can be a beautiful blessing.  But ladies, in all realness, the only man who can save us is Jesus.

Movies like Tangled  and Frozen have sought to undo these mindsets of the past, and have somewhat succeeded.  However, there are still classics apart from Disney that lead us to believe that a man somehow completes us. 1 John 4:16-18 “This is true, but not in the context they are intending it God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love”.  Jesus is the one man who will complete us, because he isn’t of this world.  Earthly love is beautiful and a gift from God, but remember that it comes with struggles. We shouldn’t give up at the first sight of a rain cloud, but we also shouldn’t settle to stand in a hurricane. I will always love the classic fairytales, but we need to remember that thats what they are. Real life doesn’t end at happily ever after, thats where the work begins.