Still Very Much Belle

The innocence of youth is a precious thing. Life is much simpler, colors are brighter, everything is seen through rose color glasses. No one has an angle, "happily ever after" is very real to them--in fact, nothing ends in a manner that isn't happy and in one piece.

But as we get older, the innocence fades. In its place, cynicism takes root. Where we once saw only the rose, we now see the thorn. Because of past hurts, we have a tendency to view every new acquaintance as having an angle or some ulterior motive. It is harder to see the good in situations. Suffice it to say, the fairy tales we used to love are no longer accepted with blind faith; instead, we analyze, explain away, and doubt their existence. After all, they were only fiction and we know that non-fiction is what constitutes life.

News and media speak volumes and add to those truths. We hear tales of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Mark Sanford cheating on their wives. Rape and sexual abuse rates are through the roof. The family unit is a dwindling occurrence in present society.....frankly, the boy meets girl, boys fights for girl no matter the cost, boy and girl live happily ever.....it is a dying breed. This young woman, who is a self described hopeless romantic, even has her moments of doubt sometimes.

And then, I watched Beastly. I discovered that despite everything the world might tell me about romance, I am still very much Belle (or Lindy, if you are talking the movie I just watched). I do still believe that there is a prince out there for me, perhaps hidden right now in a form that I do not notice. I do still trust that he will care about me more than he does about himself, that I will build him up, and that no "spell" can keep us apart if it is what God wills.

Belle/Lindy was a girl who did have some naivety, at least some could have interpreted it that way. I like to think of Belle as a girl who looked beyond appearances and saw the true heart of a person. She believed that the heart and character could be disguised in a beastly looking exterior...and when focusing on that, it made the other look like George Clooney. =) I would like to hope that I am someone who still believes in people, that they aren't as evil and self-centered as we have come to expect.

So, while the world might tell me that pure and happy love stories can only be found in books, I am going to believe in my Lord--who is bigger and and of more infinite powerful than mere humans--can and will give me my own fairy tale. No, it isn't going to be perfect; even Beauty and the Beast isn't perfect when you think of it. However, love doesn't only have to be associated with the words: cheating, divorce, friends with benefits, etc. With God, there is still good; the glass is always half full in his eyes.

I guess I still have some innocence. I still do believe in happily ever after. After all, I am still very much Belle....and I pray I always stay that way.