E is for Ever

..as in, Happily Ever After.

God has been teaching me a lesson lately.  I thought I had learned this lesson, but He keeps putting me into situations where I am forced to realize that I still have a lot to learn about this particular subject.

I think we all have this picture in mind of how life should turn out.  That picture changes over time.  Some people actually get their Fairy Tale, but I would guess that most of us don't.  At least, we don't get that original Fairy Tale that we thought up when we were first mature enough to have a realistic perspective on life.  We alter the Fairy Tale as circumstances change.

Society has its picture of normal.  As much as one might try to live outside of a social "box," (and insist that he or she doesn't want to be stereotyped or put into that "box") I don't think anyone honestly wants to stray that far from "normal."  Maybe I assume I know more about human nature than what I actually know, but I really think that everyone wants to fit in.

I don't fit into a box...and I think it sucks.  I'm a single, pregnant, woman in the military.  My life is pretty far from the Fairy Tale I was hoping for.  I would love to fit into the Happy Housewife box.  I would love to spend the day raising babies, cleaning, and cooking dinner for my Hardworking Husband.  Seriously, I would kill for that life.  But that's not the path God has chosen for me--which brings me to The Lesson.

It's OK that I will never have that Fairy Tale.

It's OK that I am going to be raising this baby on my own.  It's OK that I am going to go back to work when she is 6 weeks old.  It's OK that I'm not going to be married with 2 kids and a house in the burbs before I'm 30.  It's OK.  My life isn't over just because things didn't turn out as I planned.  God just has other plans for me and for Macy.  He will make Something Beautiful of my life.  All is not lost.  I HATE that I have to start over.  It's something that has really been eating me since The Worst Day of My Life.  It's not fair that I have to meet someone new and learn his likes and dislikes.  I loved the comfort and familiarity of my relationship.  It was all lies, but it was comfortable.  But I know that God has better plans for me.  My life still has meaning.  I will still find fulfillment and contentment.

Someday, I might even get a Happily Ever After.