So God really put it on my heart the past few weeks to write what's on my heart. The Lord has been stirring in me a sort of renewal. I've reread my notes from before, and they all seemed so long ago. This is a new day. My faith is stronger. God has taken me to new heights. This is sort of my battle cry. :) First off, I'd like to say that this note is not intended to be whiney or obnoxious in any way, shape, or form: I'm just writing what I feel God is telling me to write. Next I'd like to thank all of my loving Jesus friends: thank you for all of your support and love and faith. You all are incredible, and I thank you for encouraging me in Him each and every day. :) Lastly, I'd like put out a warning that I quote things a lot in here. Yes, I have my own opinion, but I also like to back up what I say. So if you don't like the quotes, I apologize. :D Here we go, enjoy. :)
If you know me at ALL, you know that I absolutely thrive off of Disney Princess movies. My all-time favorites are Tangled and Enchanted-- but particularly Enchanted. Ever since its release in 2007, I have had this fascination with Giselle. She seemed so innocent and naive. She effortlessly loved to put smiles on peoples' faces each and every day. She loved to love love. She seemed to skip everywhere. She seemed to giggle a lot and... she seemed a lot like me... But anyway, I adore Giselle. I was more than thrilled to play her in our school Caberet. Rewatching the movie and listening to the soundtrack again got me to thinking more about this modern day princess.
In the movie, Giselle starts out living in the animated fairy tale world of Andalasia where she sings to all her woodland friends about "True Love's Kiss" and her dream prince. Meanwhile, Prince Edward (a goofy, naive, love song singing prince with huge puffy sleeves) has just taken down his "tenth troll this month!" with his loyal flunky, Nathaniel. Edward starts singing about True Love's Kiss (the MOST POWERFUL thing in the world) and hears Giselle a ways off singing the same words! I know, it's fate. ;) Edward jumps on Destiny, his fat white pony, and rides to find "the maiden that belongs to that sweet voice!" Nathaniel lets the previously captured troll go to eat Giselle before the two can meet and fall in love (his loyalty lies with the evil Queen Narrissa, Edward's maniacal witch step mother, but of course everybody in the movie is oblivious to this fact). But Edward and Giselle do meet and after exchanging names, they ride off into the sunset to "be married in the morning". Alas, of course, the villain has to have the upper hand at some point in a plot, so the Evil Queen Narrissa sends Giselle through a magical well which transports her to "a place where there are no happily ever afters--" NEW YORK CITY. :O
Basically the whole premise of the movie is Giselle in NYC waiting for her Prince to come rescue her so they can get married, while making some very special friends along the way. The more I thought about it, the more I realized: Wow. I am SO much like Giselle! No, I'm not a ginger (go ahead and get that one out of the way...), no, I'm not from Andalasia, and-- no, (sadly) I don't have a best friend named Pip who happens to be a chipmunk... But something I do have in common with Giselle is that I am stuck in NYC (single land) waiting for my Prince Edward. So now I am going to expand a little about God and me and singleness and love-- with a base around in the movie Enchanted. :)
I would like to tell you a little secret now: I'm single. But before you say, "Really?! Wow! I had NO idea!", hear me out. I'm enjoying it. Really. And God has shown me little by little that being single is one of the greatest blessings you can have. I know-- and believe me when I say I KNOW how hard it is being single as a teenager. It is one of the hardest things I have done so far in life. At times it seems like everyone has relationships or at least are talking about them. It's like a requirement for the journey through the madness that is high school. And I haven't handled that struggle in the best way through my high school career. A lot of my close friends are in relationships, and sometimes it seemed like all I ever heard was, "Oh my boyfriend ladeeda... Oh our date night ladeeda... Oh I love him ladeeda..." and became angry with them because of it. It wasn't their fault. Heck, just hearing the phrase "me and my boyfriend" or even "I like so and so" made me want to punch a wall. I let the devil taunt me with these things over and over again and I never let God show me how great the gift was that He has given me. So after I "got it"-- finally-- I decided I would share with you what God showed me.
Southland did a series in September called "Serial Dating" and it was amazing. One of the points that Jon Weece talked about was how many misconceptions there are in the dating world. One of the biggest that got through to me was this: If I find the right person, everything will be alright. WRONG! Although entering a relationship can be a good thing, many difficult situations result because of it. Many of my friends have told me that handling relationships in the right way is one of the hardest things that they have to do. I can see where this can be a problem-- managing time for school/extracurricular activities, balancing friends... not to mention all the priorities to keep your relationship Godly. I firmly believe that getting into a relationship too early can result in many conflicts with family and friends and just life. It seems like a lot of girls that get into a plethora of relationships put their boyfriend before other priorities, particularly God. I don't want that to happen.
I used to think that whenever I found a good guy, I would become somebody. I would finally be "noticed" for who I really was and get noticed by a guy worth getting noticed by! I felt like Gertrude McFuzz in Seussical the Musical: "Notice me, Horton! This is your next door neighbor calling...!" Like, there's someone out there, I know it! Hello?! Where ARE you??? Haha girls in relationships always SEEM so happy on the outside, but is it really worth all that facade and trouble? Find a guy who you think you like, date for like two weeks, break up, cry, talk about it for six more months, push your troubles into liking ANOTHER guy, and start the whole cycle over again. High school relationships don't sound worth it to me. The problem is your attitude and your response while you're still single.
In Enchanted, Giselle spends her whole life dreaming and wishing for this "one true love". She expects him to be just like the traditional Disney prince with a goofy outfit on a pony who is willing to catch her when she falls and carry her to their wedding day off in the sunset. What she doesn't realize is that love doesn't work that way. Yes, love is beastly. It is magical and wonderful once you find it. But there's a line between Disney fairytale and reality. Let's face it, girls, guys are dumb. They probably wouldn't carry you without whining and you better believe that they wouldn't be caught DEAD on a fat white pony named "Destiny"... But girls are dumb too. We expect the guys to do all the work. We blame every negative thing on guys, especially if it includes our flaws or something we did wrong. In order to find a good guy and stay on good terms with him throughout your relationship is to become the girl your guy is looking for. Just like how I want a future great guy, my future great guy wants a future great girl. And he won't ever get that if I don't clean up MY act.
And there's another good question... how to deal with other people's relationships and what to do while I'm still waiting? Giselle stays with Robert, a native New Yorker during her time in NYC. Robert is dating a girl named Nancy. (Idina Menzel... what I think is the most pointless role she's ever played. She doesn't sing... WHAT IS THIS MADNESS?!) ;) She desperately wants that "fairy tale" relationship. I love how Giselle handles herself when she deals with Robert and Nancy's relationship. She supports, she encourages, and she loves. A lot of times when friends came to me about their boyfriends, I would try to avoid the conversation. Sometimes I would even fake support to SEEM like I was being there for them when all the while I'd be rolling my eyes internally and wishing for the nearest exit. What I didn't realize was that out of all the people my friends knew, they chose me to go to for advice. ME! What an honor-- if someone's going to come to you for guidance or encouragement, what a great opportunity to serve and love on them! God always gives us ways to serve others, even in the most unlikely circumstances. Since I realized that, I now genuinely listen to my friends. I can have fun talking about other people's relationships... how great is that?
So what to do during this season of my life? Well, God has given me (I think ironically) the job of the encourager. I thrive off of supporting and helping other people. People need to hear God's love and Words of advice, and I can give it to them. And when you think of it, I can do a lot of things that people and relationships can't really do. My weekends are always free-- what a wonderful way to spend time with God or serving others! (Not saying couples can't do the same, but I don't have to worry about dates or looking my best haha!) I used to think that it wasn't right to think about my "future someone", like dreaming about him was some kind of sin. It's great to think on the plans God has for you because you can always take the awesomest thing you can think of and times it by infinity-- and that's what God's plan for you looks like. It may not seem like much of a plan now, but I promise the end result will be worth the wait. Bet you'd never hear a single person tell you that, huh? :) Like one of dear friends says, "The longer the wait, the sweeter the kiss!" (And hoo doggy what a smooch that'll be!) ;)
And it's not like there won't be struggles. Giselle had to endure heartbreak and a fiery dragon before she finally got her true love! There will be times where you'll yearn for that special guy more than you can bear. (I personally think Valentine's Day is one of those times for girls. Let's face it, we all want a guy to send us roses, a store-bought card, and a large fluffy heart teddy bear... hahaha) There will be times when you will question God's timing and plan. I know I've been there. But He's never failed me yet! And He never will, either. People might make fun of you or ditch you for their boyfriend. But always remember, you are the most special you that there is!
Speaking of which, let's talk about princesses. Girls are princesses. I don't care WHAT anyone says. It's in the Bible. Look it up, people. Psalm 45: "My heart is stirred by a noble theme as I recite my verses for the King. My tongue is the pen of a skillful writer. Daughters of kings are among Your honored women; listen, daughter, and pay careful attention: Forget your people and your father’s house. Let the King be enthralled by your beauty; honor Him, for He is your Lord." See? Told ya. If anything else you got out of this, get this now: You are beautiful. You is kind. You is important. ;) You are special. You are worth the wait. Don't let any person tell you otherwise, because they are lying through their teeth. When we come to realize that we are princess for the King of ALL Kings, it really puts in perspective how special we really are. He loves us! He would wait forever just to see your smile, because He created it just for you in just the right way! And He wants the best for you-- and that does include waiting for His timing. Another part of being a princess is gaining the confidence to shine as you! Your fella will love you for you and no one else-- you just have to be courageous enough to let the real you shine through!
Don't worry, there will be an "And They Lived Happily Ever After"! The journey is just as important as the end result. This time in life is what God uses to make you into the you that you need to be. Let God win your heart before a guy. He loves you more than life itself-- He lay down His life so you could have yours! When you come close to God, He will come near to you and help you through anything, even being single. :) Some things I've found that are fun to do while you wait are making a list of five Godly traits that are your checklist for your "someone", making a list of silly traits for him to have, and a list of dream dates you want to go on once you find your "someone"... Yes, I have done this. Don't judge. It really is a fun time. In fact, just for kicks, I'll give you my lists:
Five Traits My Man Has to Have:
- Godly
- Pure
- Compassionate
- Joyful
- Genuine
- Funny
- Gentleman
- Respectful
- Wise
- A Hugger
- A Winker
- Bass
- Accept that Disney > Football
- "Thorish"
- A dancer
- Hard core worshipper
- Goofy with controlled seriousness
- Servant
- Kid-lover (for future reference ;) )
- Tender
- Romantic
- Patient
- Optimistic
- Chocoholic
- Cook (this is a necessity. I just learned how to make cookies from store bought cookie dough. This dude better either cook or love microwave suppers!)
- Tangled- Lantern Boat Ride
- Princess and the Frog- cook together
- Elf- ice skating, hot chocolate, Christmas trees, revolving doors... etc.
- Eloise- going to see a musical, playing piano, and singing together
- Enchanted- Italian dinner, walking around in a park, hot dogs, dancing, maybe a ball... :)
- Parent Trap- adventures, horses, cuddling... or a boat!
- Princess Diaries- pizza, Romeo and Juliet moments, woods, picnic, slow dancing, thumb war, secrets... aw, what the heck. MATTRESS SURFING! The possibilities are endless here.
- Sound of Music- gazebo in a thunderstorm
- Up- Zoo, picnic on a hill, cloud watching
- White Christmas- up late, counting our blessings... all that good stuff. :)
- Nerd Day- watch Lord of the Rings and/or Harry Potter, go lazer tagging, video games, maybe even some funny glasses!
- Manly Day- football, Avengers, paintball or Nerf Gun war
- Zoo Day
- Do Something New and Exciting Day- this could be anything from riding horses to rafting
- Rollercoaster Day
- Disney Movie Marathon
- Classic Date- dinner, a movie, dancing in the rain... you know it! :D
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