Cinderella

• Printable Version - Share on Facebook - Posted by Sunnie McPhetres March 10, 2015 - Filed in Christian - #transformation  #  #  - 1,882 views

  I grew up enthralled with a Cinderella movie – not the Disney version but the Rogers and Hammerstein musical version. I was not allowed to stay up late very often, but there were a few TV programs that my parents did allow me to stay up late to watch. The most memorable were: Charlie Brown’s Christmas, The Wizard of Oz and Rogers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella. While I enjoyed all of these shows, Cinderella was by far the most important to me. I sat glued to the television screen, singing along with all of the songs. For weeks after watching I’d pretend that I was Cinderella. I’d create my “own little corner” with “my own little chair.” It may seem odd, but I didn’t really dream about meeting a prince or falling in love; what I was most enthralled with was being transformed into something extraordinary. Cinderella dreamed of having amazing adventures and of being someone of importance. I shared those dreams. I often wished that a fairy Godmother would appear and whisk me away to the adventures of my dreams.

  Flash forward many (many) years; I still love Cinderella but I see her and the story in a different light. I look at my life and realize that I have undergone a transformation much the same as Cinderella. I was once a frightened and meek child who lived with an alcoholic father who wasn’t always nice to me. I dreamed of a life where I felt loved and empowered. I dreamed often; that sometimes created problems between my father and me because he didn’t understand imaginations and dreams. I wanted to be something that only I believed I could become. I knew what was inside of me that no one else could see. I wanted a fairy Godmother to come and make everything alright. What I got was so much better!

  Galatians 2:20 (ESV) tells me “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Now that’s way better than a fairy Godmother! Jesus came into my life and turned things upside down. The transformation did not happen quickly but it also won’t disappear at midnight. Jesus has used the very things that frightened me to facilitate my transformation. In the book of Romans, Paul writes “There’s more to come: We continue to shout our praise even when we’re hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us, and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do next. In alert expectancy such as this, we’re never left feeling shortchanged. Quite the contrary—we can’t round up enough containers to hold everything God generously pours into our lives through the Holy Spirit! Christ arrives right on time to make this happen.” (Romans 5:3-6 The Message). The transformation is far from over. 1John 3:2 tells me, “Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.” (NIV) There are still lessons that I must learn and steps of faith that I must take. The best part? It’s for real – I don’t have to be in my own little corner in my own little chair. Jesus gives me the strength, courage and knowledge to step out into the world do things that make a difference. The ultimate reward is so much better than marrying a prince – I’ll see the Prince of Peace as he is!