Endings.

"And I pray that you being rooted and established in love, may have power to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ..." Ephesians 3:17-18

I need a happy ending. I won't WATCH the show or read the book or go to the movie IF it doesn't  end happy.  The Brady Bunch was my very favorite TV show. (1970's;)Why? Well, obviously. THE House. THE Parents. THE Kids.......& of course, ALICE. Helloooo.  I wanted to LIvE on that show. It was all SO HAPPY.  My young & naive self thought that we were getting a glimpse into a real-life family. It was POSSiBLE. Families could actually BE like The Brady's.  If EVERyONE just worked together & DID what they were SUPPOSED to do...FOLLOwED THe SCRiPT.....family life would be so EASY....& HAPPY. Conflicts resolved in 1/2 hour. Problem solved. No mess. I LOVED that show. A Happy Ending. Every time. I wish real life were more like that. But ALAS......

Real life is MESSy. People screw up. Relationships are HARd. Not always. But....SOMETIMES. Sometimes people we LOVE hurt us. Sometimes they disappoint. Sometimes they make bad decisions. And...it takes TIME to heal. TIME to work it out. TIME to forgive. To resolve. To pray & get perspective. Sometimes it ends happy. Sometimes it doesn't.  Sometimes it's just complicated.
That's real life. For EVeRyOnE. No one escapes. So....I DON'T put my hope in my relationships.  My HOPE is NOT in my kids. Not in my husband.  Not in my family. As much as I LIKE them. I realize we are not a BUnCH of Brady's.
What I DO have my hope in...the SURE THiNG...the one thing that ensures a HAPPY ENDING is the LOVE of JESUS.  I understand (grasping a bit of) the depth & width & length & height of this LOVE.  THIS LOVE keeps redeeming me.  It OVERWHELMs me with HOPe. HOPe for a REaL LiFE HApPy ENDING. The script that has already been written. And this SToRY...my StORY...your StORY...ends WELL. It's a happy ending. Because in the END....LOvE WINS.  love always wins:)