Have you had your happily ever after? Have your childhood dreams come true?
When you enter a Disney Park, you read the words, “where dreams come true” and every fairy tale has a happily ever after. I’ve been to Disney World 4 times and Disney Land once and my dreams have not come true. At least the dreams I had as a child of finding my prince charming, living in a big house on the top of a hill with horse stables and open green space. And don’t forget the maids…. Does that mean that my dreams will never come true?
The greatest aspect of childhood is the imagination and dreaming. Exploring imaginations as children opens a world of adventures and dreams. As a child you were open, the world had no limits, life seemed simple and you could do anything you imagined. In an instant, you could climb into a spaceship and fly to the moon, slay a dragon and rescue a village, find yourself in an African safari roaming with lions or being rescued by a handsome prince and living happily ever after in a castle.
Then one day, you grew up and reality set in. Your imagination dwindled, your dreams faded and your openness became constrained. Why? Why did your dreams as a child or even as an adult not come true and fade into the wind? Why was your openness placed in a closet and your imagination disappeared? Why did you not have your happily ever after?
Although you can imagine and dream what your life would be, but if your dreams are yours and not aligned with God, you won’t have your happily ever after. You may have a temporary happiness but it won’t be permanent.
One of my favorite saints, St Ignatius of Loyola, discovered this lasting happiness when his imagination aligned with the saints and Jesus. When he was seriously wounded, the only material available to him was books on the saints and Jesus. What he realized was that when he would imagine himself fighting for the King of Spain and winning the hearts of the most beautiful ladies, he had a temporary joy. When he found himself imagining the adventures of the saints and fighting for another King, Jesus, his happiness lasted longer. This was the birth of his conversion and the spiritual exercises.
As it was with St. Ignatius, when your dreams align with God, they do come true and you do receive your happily ever after. Your dreams and openness are keys in your life to the doors God has ready for you to open. In Matthew 19:26, Jesus says that “for God all things are possible.” Right there, He tells you that your dreams are possible with God. If your dreams are His will in your life, they will be fulfilled.
Today, my dreams no longer consist of finding prince charming, living in a big house on a hill. These are the things that the world wants me to dream of having. My dreams consist of what’s impossible for me alone, but with God is a reality. It is a dream of love, joy and charity. My dream is of peace in knowing that God has greater things in store for me, a greater purpose for my life. It is a dream of listening and receiving the key to the kingdom of Heaven.
What is your dream today? What does your happily ever after look like? Does it involve conforming your will, your dreams to that of God’s? Do you have joy and hope knowing that it aligns with God’s dream for you?
Women Who Walk By Faith 
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