“I know every mile will be worth my while. I would go most anywhere to find where I belong.”
- Hercules, “Go the Distance”
It should be of no shock to anyone at this point that I love my Disney movies. I grew up watching princesses and animals alike sing and overcome trials and sing some more. I still don’t understand why life can’t be a musical. I love the ending, “They lived happily ever after.” People want to say that is unrealistic and many have come up with parodies of life after the end of the story, but really that’s just us putting our own cynicism on a fictional story instead of our hopes of what our story could be.
In education there is a powerful concept called growth mindset. Carol Dweck brings this idea that people are not limited in their intelligence or capabilities. She speaks of the power of “yet”. For instance, when a student says, “I can’t do this,” we shift them to say “I can’t do this yet.” Yet gives a window of hope and opportunity. It also shapes your mind to believe that anything is possible.
We all need more “yets” in our lives.
I can’t physically see God… yet.
I can’t see a solution… yet.
I don’t have the strength… yet.
And God is our “yet”. Anything we can’t or think we can’t do, He can or He can show us what we can do. (There is that untapped potential again.) Our mindset defines how we make choices. That grand adventure of life you dream of comes from the choices you make and if your mindset is so closed off to believing, your adventure can seem small or unimportant. If you feel this way, please know God loves you and places a high value on your life.
Dweck also goes on to explain that no one has a completely fixed or growth mindset. We can change our mindset! how should we go about this? By reading the Word, by talking with God. If we make these habits in our lives, we find that we are closer to the growth end of the spectrum. That we are more open to possibilities. And this will lead to our ever after.
We want our storybook ending to be our happily ever after. We want to believe in happy ever afters. In the song, “Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” by U2, we hear that outcry. We acknowledge we are missing something. Our true happily ever after will happen when we are in the presence of God in Heaven.
There will be a happily ever after. It is a new beginning in His presence.
“In the end I want to be standing at the beginning with you…"
- Richard Marx, “At the Beginning”
Questions and Challenges:
- I have a bucket list for heaven. Things I want to do, but not here on earth. Like skydiving. What would be on your bucket list for heaven?
- Check out the book "Heaven" by Randy Alcorn if you are interested in reading up on it!
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