In the last 20 years of my life I came to the point where I can’t stand generic romance or love stories that are unrealistic fluffy love stories. I guess I’ve become too cynical after seeing the challenges in relationships, my own and those around me. What appeals to me more are stories about real life. Sometimes there are happy moments, but sometimes there are agonizing moments as well. There’s also a little bit of everything in between happening. It’s real life after all. I like these real life stories so much more than the fluffy unrealistic stories because to me they’re real and as much as I would like to think that I could live in a fairy tale world; I don’t. Instead, I find myself walking in a very harsh reality with many unfair things occurring and a fair share of challenging times as well. Of course, there has been joy along the way also. Life is raw and unfiltered in the moments it offers all of us. 

It’s the same for everyone all over the world. There’s not a single life that is one note really. All good or all bad, just extremes. Our lives are symphonies. They have a start, they have an end, and a lot of movement in between. So, if our life was a genre it would probably be called a drama. It would be full of mini scenes, cliffhangers, successes and yes, our fair share of disappointments. Of course, there’s a little comedy thrown in there as well. My point is life is messy and complicated. Our stories are messy and unpredictable. Sometimes if we tell our stories, they’re painful to hear. Sometimes when we share them they’re even painful to say or get through without tears whether they be tears of joy or sorrow.

The great thing is that God is the author of our messy stories. Life was never intended to be easy or just all trouble. It is mountains and valleys and everything in between. If you look at the Bible, you see that God is faithful to all his people through the many stories shared there. Even in the middle of their ups and downs, their highest moments he’s with them and in their darkest pit he’s there to pull them out. Yeah, he’s seen it all and loved us in all our states. 

So in light of the fact that life is messy and challenging what do we do? If we don’t get a fairy tale, how do we face our life? We can be comforted when we see that our life is actually on track, nothing is wrong. There were supposed to be the lows and the highs.

Perhaps you like me have long ago given up on the idea of a fairy tale and you have a very realistic idea about life, love, and even laughter. Perhaps you like me realize that although we cannot control the twist and the turns of our life because our life is more like a roller coaster ride than a walk in the park, you can still enjoy it. Life is something that we didn’t actually map out our path, our plans just don’t work most of the time, and we have no control, or very little, but it’s OK.  We don’t get to choose what kind of roller coaster we’ve been given honestly, yet we realized that we can throw our hands up and enjoy the experience for what it is. Yes, there will be terrifying descents but there will also be amazing heights reached. And it won’t look the same for you as it looks for someone else. And that’s OK. That’s the beauty of this crazy thing that we call life.

We are all since the beginning of time, or at least time as we know it, souls clinging on in life. We want to live even when it’s so hard. Even when we’re not sure that we want to we still want to because I know that there’s still a bigger part of us that wants to keep trying and fighting, to keep breathing.

Find peace in knowing that your story like mine may not be exactly what you expected, but it’s still good. You wanted a hallmark movie and instead you got a real-life drama. The truth was we were always meant to have the real-life drama. The reprieve we get as believers isn’t a break from the challenges of what life offers us.  No, instead it’s support and hope during every moment. We have a hiding place to run to when it gets too hard. We have armor to shield ourselves with as we stand, even under bombardment. We have a body of Christ and fellow believers to link arms with and even hold us up when we cannot hold ourselves up. We also have a great ending coming, well a beginning really. 

We’ve been given so much as believers. Peace that passes all understanding, joy that comes in the morning, and a hope that endures all hardships. Other people are living through their dramas and their stories, and they don’t have any of those things. My heart truly aches for them because I don’t know how they do it. I couldn’t make it one day without my savior and his grace for me because some of my moments haven’t looked so great but God was still there.

Embrace the story that you’ve been given. Know that if you’re in a tough moment, it won’t last forever, you’ll have lots of chapters ahead, better chapters. Understand that our final chapter here, well it’s just the beginning of a whole new section we have yet to even understand or imagine. Don’t worry if the chapter you are in is fair, easy, or otherwise. Don’t stress if living is not even what you want to do in this moment, just live anyway. And for goodness sakes, if life is really a roller coaster, throw you hands up and enjoy it, it’s better than dreading it because either way you’re on the ride. Be thankful for your real life story being lived right now by you and walk in confidence and hope as a believer because you know he’s always with you. He’s there for the highs, the loop de loops, the great descants, the moments that take your breath way, the times that break your heart, and those that mend it again. He is with you through it all. So do it, embrace your story for what it is, I am sure it will a good one!